Minor Turnabout
by NexusTehULF0o
Summary: Phoenix Wright finds himself in a fix once more as he decides to defend sixteen-year-old Jordin Nichols, accused of murdering her father. With a young new prosecutor and detective, will Phoenix be the oldest AND most experienced in the courtroom?
1. Chapter 1: Investigation

**Case: Minor Turnabout**

**Recorded by: NexustehULF0o**

**Description of Case: Phoenix Wright finds himself in a fix once more as he decides to defend sixteen-year-old Jordin Nichols, accused of murdering her father. With a young new prosecutor and detective, will Phoenix be the oldest AND most experienced in the courtroom?**

**Rating: T. May not be suitable for younger children. **

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**DISCLAIMER: THE EVENTS RECORDED IN THIS CASE ARE DEPICTED THROUGH PHOENIX WRIGHT, ACE ATTORNEY. PHOENIX WRIGHT, MAYA, MIA, AND PEARL FEY, ALONG WITH ANYONE ELSE IN THE ACE ATTORNEY SERIES BELONG TO CAPCOM, AND ARE NOT MY PERSONAL CREATION.

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**Note: You know how some of the things in the Ace Attorney series are blue, green, orange, etc.? I have bolded and italicized everything that is a different color. In my word document, everything is a different color, but it doesn't show up on , so could you pretend for me? Kthx. =]

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**Nexus: Welcome to the world of serious lawyer stuff. **

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**Chapter One: Investigation**

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"Dad…?"

Jordin Nichols rapped on the door to her father's room, the door returning a hollow knocking noise in reply.

"Dad…? Listen… I'm sorry about what I said earlier…can I come in?"

She slowly wrapped her fingers around the doorknob, turning it and slowly creaking the door open.

"Hey Dad…? Are you in here?"

Jordin stepped warily into the room after speaking this, unsure if she were invading her father's privacy. The sixteen-year-old turned slowly, scanning the room.

"_Dad!" _

Jordin scurried over in a sudden rush of adrenaline, dropping to her knees and crying over the body of Sterling Nichols, who was lying sprawled on the floor, bleeding from the stomach with about twenty pens and pencils protruding from his dead body.

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_**March 14 10:28 A.M.**_

**Wright & Co. Law Offices**

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"Man…"

Phoenix Wright threw off his cleaning apron, sighing heavily before slumping into a nearby office chair. The chair swiveled slightly under him, but the attorney ignored it. He shook his head slightly, glancing out the window for a brief moment to see inside a myriad room of the Gatewater Hotel.

_**(How do those toilets get so dirty anyway?) **_

Loosening his tie, he heard the front door slam, two pairs of hurried footsteps following it. Phoenix was stirred from his thinking, glancing to the doorway and watching two women come in through it.

The first, ten-year-old Pearl Fey, was rather graceful in her arrival. She stopped running seconds before she reached the doorway, adjusting her Kurain Village attire before entering and walking inside.

Maya Fey; The older of the two, however, pushed her way in, holding a piece of paper in her hands. Phoenix noticed she had a wide grin plastered on her face, which could mean one of two things – The Silver Samurai was re-airing, or she was going to present something to him.

"Take THAT, Nick!" Maya cried, thrusting the paper his way. Maya had taken a liking to mimicking his court aphorisms, and in the depths of his heart, it had been beginning to get to him. But he would never tell Maya that.

"What is it, Maya? What's so important that you and Pearls had to come rushing in?" Phoenix took the folded paper from his assistant's outstretched hands, looking up at the nineteen-year-old expectantly.

_**(Wow. She's sure excited about something.)**_

"Open it, Mr. Nick! Open it!" Pearl urged, jumping up and down a bit impatiently.

"All right, all right already…" he mumbled.

_**(Jeez…) **_

Phoenix flipped open the folded note, cocking his head to the right slightly as he read it. He looked up it to Maya a moment later.

"You two got me a defense request?" he asked, sitting up straight. "How'd you –"

"No need to thank us, Nick." Maya bowed proudly. "You haven't had a case in months. So when we saw the _**Nichols murder**_ case on the TV today, Pearly decided we should go down to the Detention Center and check it out."

"The…_**Nichols murder**_?" Phoenix said this questioningly, an eyebrow rising over his right eye after he straightened his head to look between the two women.

Maya shook her head as if she would never understand how Phoenix lived without television.

"A sixteen-year-old girl has been accused of the murder of her father." Maya explained, placing a hand to her hip. "That's your defendant; _**Jordin Nichols.**_ Really, Nick, you should watch the news once in a while."

"Yeah, Mr. Nick." Pearl agreed, nodding her head. Maya had recently gotten her into watching TV and eating all the time; basically turning her cousin into duplicate of herself. Phoenix sighed, placing a hand to his head and feeling the stiffness of his spiky black hair slightly flatten under it.

"Hm…" The attorney mused, standing. "I guess we should go to the Detention Center and talk to her then. Knowing my luck, the trial's probably tomorrow…"

Pearl was rather taken aback. She seemed rather amazed. "Wow, Mr. Nick, your luck really did that?" She questioned amiably.

Phoenix sighed again, shaking his head and moving to get his suit on.

_**(Sometimes I worry about those girls…)

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_**March 14 10:47 A.M.**_

_**Detention Center**_

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_**(Hm…I wonder what this case'll be like. I hope I can do it – I haven't been doing many cases lately…might be a little rusty.)**_

Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl filed into the visiting cubicle in front of the client's window, noticing a young girl waiting for them. She didn't seem happy to be there at all. Her arms were folded against her chest, her bottom lip protruding from her face in a scowling pout. Her brown locks of hair looked rather messy, almost as if she had been in some kind of position with her hands over her head. Phoenix could tell that she'd been crying – her eyes were rather puffy and red.

"Jordin?" Phoenix mumbled, sitting down in one of the three chairs provided for them in the small, cramped space. She seemed to glare at him, almost as if confirming her name.

_**(Ooh…Someone's not happy…Better be careful with what I say…) **_

"Oh, Mr. Wright!" Suddenly, the sixteen-year-old burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. "You've got to believe me! I would never kill my father! Never ever!"

Phoenix wasn't expecting this, and got caught off guard. He glanced to his female comrades for assistance before nodding minutely.

"It's okay, Jordin. I don't think you killed anyone, okay?" he reassured her. "That's why I'm going to defend you tomorrow."

"You will?" Jordin's tears slowed, using the sleeve of her grayish sweatshirt to wipe the remaining ones away. "T-that's great!"

"Hm…" Phoenix began, placing a hand under his chin to begin thinking about what he wanted to ask her about. "Jordin, would you mind if I asked you a couple questions?"

"Anything, Mr. Wright." The girl replied, nodding.

Phoenix nodded as well, glancing again to an equally interested Maya and Pearl before clearing his throat and beginning his investigation.

"Where were you the night of the murder?" He started, leaning forward so that his elbows and lower arms rested on his thighs. Jordin paused, looking up as if to try and remember where she was that night. Opening her mouth slightly, the sixteen-year-old wiped more tears from her eyes.

"I was locked in my room, sitting on my bed." She explained, painting a picture for the attorney and his comrades. "I had been crying, and I was listening to my music, since I needed to be comforted. But after I had calmed down, I unlocked my door and went to my dad's room. That's when I found him…" she started to sob again, slurring hr words together. " He'd been _**stabbed by a whole bunch of pencils and pens**_ that had been at his desk. I was so upset, so I started pulling them out of him, and I got rid of them…"

"Why did you do that, Jordin?" Maya asked the question before Phoenix had the chance to. "That's called 'tampering with evidence to a crime scene', and ou could get into serious trouble for it."

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" The girl leaned forward, covering her eyes from the three. "If the police found them, then they would think that I had done it! _**I was the only one in the house **_when Daddy was murdered…" she trailed off, continuing to hide her face from them. "I had to hide the weapons…or else they would have sentenced me on the spot!" The three of them could clearly hear sobs through her words.

_**(Maybe we should change the subject…)**_

"Jordin, could you tell us where your house is?" Maya urged. "We need to go to the crime scene to look for more clues!"

"So we can prove you innocent!" Pearl chirped.

The sixteen-year-old sniffled, nodding. "Okay. I'll write the address down for you…"

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_**March 14 11:34 A.M.**_

_**Front Driveway**_

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_**(Man, look at all the policemen trying to get out of this place. It's like a mob of blue uniforms…I can't wait to get into the house.)**_

Maya, Pearl and Phoenix became confused as a young man about seventeen approached the group, wearing a button-down baby blue shirt and a red tie. He was adjusting aforementioned tie mercilessly, as if frustrated. The group could hear him muttering curses under his breath as he drew nearer to them.

"Who are you?" Phoenix inquired, looking the young man up and down.

The man looked up innocently before straightening his back, saluting.

"Detective Chris Blade, Mr. Wright!" he called out loudly, holding his clipboard to his chest. "Head of the investigation of the murder of one Sterling Nichols!"

"Okay…" The attorney muttered, stealing a few perplexed glances to his comrades. "Where's Gumshoe, Detective Blade?"

"Detective Dick Gumshoe?" the detective said the other's name as if a question, looking to his clipboard for a few seconds before returning to the conversation. "I believe he's on vacation. The force paid for him and his girlfriend all-expenses to go on some cruise for a couple of days. Officer Gumshoe has been buckling under stress, sir."

_**(Poor Gumshoe…It's good that he's getting some of the time off he deserves.)**_

"That's good to hear!" Maya exclaimed, clasping her hands together and nodding. Pearl agreed.

"It's a good thing that Mr. Scruffy Detective is getting some time off, isn't it, Mr. Nick?" The ten-year-old turned to look at Phoenix, who smiled and nodded in return.

"Yeah, it is." He nodded in consent, then returning to the young man who had begun fiddling with his tie again.

"Uh…Detective…Blade?"

"Yeah?" The man saluted again.

_**(Does he have to do that every time he talks to me?)**_

"May we have a look around?"

The detective shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Wright; it's a force policy."

"Aw, come on!" Maya fumed. "Gumshoe let us do it!"

The young detective blinked. "He did?" Stealing away to his clipboard again, Chris shrugged. "I guess I could let it go…but only this once."

"Yay!" Pearl shouted, jumping up and down. "Thank you, Mr. Detective!" The young man blushed lightly.

"No problem." He mumbled.

"Hey, could we ask you a couple of things about the case before we go inside?" Phoenix questioned, holding out a hand as if extending an offer.

"Sure…as long as it's not something that Alex doesn't want you to know." Chris nodded, glancing to his clipboard a third time.

"Alex?" Maya asked amiably.

"_**Alex Datenshi**_." He handed the group a photo of the aforementioned girl that he had on his clipboard. "She's the prosecution for tomorrow's case. She's been looking forward to this for years; a case against Phoenix Wright! But she's not gonna go easy on you, lemme tell you!"

_**(Hm…not gonna go easy, huh…)**_

"Could you tell me more about Ms. Datenshi?" Phoenix raised both eyebrows, placing his hands into the pockets of his blue suit slacks. The young detective nodded in return, smiling.

"Sure, she's one of my best friends, after all. I was just waiting for her to get out here, so I could go." He agreed. Fumbling with his clipboard, Chris procrastinated accordingly before proceeding, turning and looking to the house and studying the three people in front of him awaiting an explanation.

"Well…" he started, coughing, "Alex is the best prosecutor ever, to put it bluntly."

_**(Wow, it's not like I haven't heard that one before. First Edgeworth was the best, then Fransizka not long afterward…and then…Godot – I mean, Diego Armando. What makes this new chick so great?) **_

"Don't underestimate her, Mr. Wright." Chris continued, wagging a finger at the attorney. "She's been in the courtroom all her life, not to mention her first prosecution in England at ten."

_**(So she's an English Fransizka. Great.)**_

"She…doesn't whip people, right?" Phoenix sounded a bit disturbed.

"…Um…no?" Chris replied as if to imply the question, _What are you talking about, dude?_

"Okay…good." Phoenix heaved a sigh of relief, wiping the quickly beading sweat off of his forehead.

"Anyway," Chris continued, glancing to his clipboard once more, "She's been waiting for this case her whole life, Mr. Wright. She's extremely excited."

"Let me guess, she wants to beat Nick, right?" Maya folded her arms shrewdly, nodding.

"Oh, no!" Chris cried out, shaking his head vigorously. "No, that's not it at all! She idolizes Mr. Wright! She's only come to America to face him in court! It's been her lifelong dream!" The young detective got the whole thing out in one breath, sending him into heaving sputters for air. "If she heard you talking like that, she would…" he managed between breaths, "…I dunno what she would do!"

Phoenix felt a small blush spread across his face.

_**(Wow, people idolize me? I'm not that great, c'mon…)**_

"Anyway…" Phoenix looked to the house behind Chris. "Could you tell us anything about the victim, Detective?"

"Uh…sure!" Chris held out a small manila envelope to the trio, as if to give it to them. "Here's the _**Autopsy Report**_, for starters. I was meaning to give it to you, but we kept talking about something else for a long time."

"Uh, thanks." Phoenix took it and handed it to Maya for safekeeping.

_**(So that's why he kept looking at the clipboard…) **_

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_**Sterling's Autopsy Report added to the Court Record.**_

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"Sterling Nichols was 32, and had just moved into this home with his daughter two months ago." The detective pointed to the house behind him. "He worked at a jewelry store called _**Goody Jewelers**_; it's just down the street here." The detective then moved his finger down the road to the west. Phoenix and his two companions nodded, indicating their understanding. "But anyway, he was a very _**ecological man**_ – The victim _**didn't own a car**_; he rode his bike to work every day, tried not to do anything bad for the environment…He especially loved the huge _**flower garden**_ he had out in his backyard. He was especially proud of that."

"Hm…" Phoenix mused, placing a hand to his chin.

"But anyway, about _**9 to 9:30**_ _**yesterday**_ we got a call from their next door neighbor saying that she'd seen someone murdered from behind a curtain. She points at the defendant, claiming that the two have the _**same body shape**_." Chris elaborated, placing one hand to his hip.

_**(Hm…that means that the neighbor is probably going to be on the witness stand tomorrow, then…)**_

"Well, thanks for the information, Detective." Phoenix nodded, managing a smile towards the young man. Chris nodded and waved goodbye as they walked past before beginning to mess with his tie once more. The attorney stole a few suspicious glances to his assistant, who replied confused ones, as if to say "What?"

_**(Does anybody but me get a feeling that that guy doesn't really have it together? If he wanted to be like Gumshoe, I'd say all he'd have to do it start calling me "pal!")**_

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_**March 14 12:01 P.M.**_

_**Living Room**_

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"Boy, Nick, there sure were a lot of policemen out there, huh?" Maya muttered to the defense attorney, leaning his way a bit beforehand. Phoenix scratched the back of his head in confusion.

_**(I guess they didn't find the murder weapons. That's the only thing that was missing, huh? That is, unless Jordin told them about how she got rid of them...highly unlikely.) **_

"Be on the lookout, Maya. The prosecutor's here, remember?" Phoenix replied, and his assistant nodded before passing the message onto Pearl. The attorney looked around the empty room, searching for anything that might be useful.

_**(Nothing. Darn.) **_

The man stood, engaging in a momentary pout before looking to the two women that were searching with him. The elder of the two noticed he was waiting and shrugged her shoulders, as if implying that she found nothing. Pearl, having not left Maya's side, shook her head and sighed.

They had searched the whole room; overturned everything and then overturned it again, and there was still nothing. Usually clues to the murder were easier to find than this.

"Let's go upstairs," The attorney suggested. "Maybe we'll find something of use up there." Maya and her cousin quietly agreed.

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_**March 14 12:32 P.M.**_

_**Hallway**_

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"Well Nick," Maya gestured to the two paths they could take by pointing to each as she spoke of them, "Looks like the police gave us free reign of both Sterling's and Jordin's rooms."

"Looks like it." Phoenix agreed. "Which one should we go in first?"

"I dunno," Maya replied, shrugging her shoulders. "What do you think, Pearly?"

"Um…" The ten-year-old mumbled. "I think we should go in…the defendant's room first, because maybe she hid the weapons in her room somewhere and we could…find them?"

"Good idea, Pearly!" Maya exclaimed, patting her cousin gently on the head. "Let's go, Nick!"

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_**March 14 12:37 P.M.**_

_**Jordin's Room**_

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"Wow, it's really dirty in here!" Pearl cried, looking at the mess that could hardly be called a room. Phoenix nodded in agreement while scanning the walls and floor, searching for something important that could be used for the trial the next day. If they could even find anything in this mess. They began to investigate the untidy room aimlessly, without any leads at all.

Suddenly, something bright green caught the lawyer's eye. It was a long string hanging out of one of the drawers, and it attracted him, noticing it as something of interest. Quickly the man pulled out the drawer, snatching out a square, electronic object.

"What's this?" he muttered to himself, attracting the girls' attention as well. The two leaned over around him, taking a good look at the piece of evidence he'd found.

"That's an _**MP3 Player**_, Nick! It's a uPod, too! They're really expensive!" Maya explained, smirking as Phoenix stood up straight.

"M…P…3?" Pearl repeated, placing a finger to her mouth in thought. "What does that stand for?"

"Beats me." Maya shrugged, turning her attention back to the item in Phoenix's hands. "But didn't Jordin say she was _**listening to music**_ during the time of the murder?"

"That's true," Phoenix nodded, affirming her statement. He gazed down at the uPod, also a bright green.

_**(Hm…I wonder…)**_

"Maya…" He started, shoving the MP3 Player her way, "Do you know how to figure when this was last used?"

"Nick!" Maya shouted, stepping back in reaction, "There's no way to do that!"

"Oh…" the attorney muttered, shrugging. "Maybe we'll swing by the _**Criminal Affairs Department **_later and see if Gumsh – I mean, Detective Blade can figure it out for us."

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_**MP3 Player added to the Court Record.

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_**(Hm…I wonder where Alex is. We haven't heard a peep out of anything since we came in here...Oh well, better keep searching.)**_

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_**March 14 12:48 P.M.**_

_**Crime Scene**_

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"So, are you sure you didn't see anything else suspicious?" Maya asked, cocking her head to the side as the three of them stepped inside the victim's room; the crime scene.

"Nope," Phoenix shook his head, making the nineteen-year-old frown and puff out her bottom lip.

"Huh." She mumbled, looking to Pearl, who was just as happy as ever.

That's when they noticed a young woman, about a year younger than Maya, staring lovingly at Phoenix. The attorney suddenly became startled, backing up a pace as if to get the girl out of his face.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~~! Sir Phoenix Wright…!" She squealed with a hint of British accentuation, pulling up the side of her white jacket that was covered in skulls. She shot out her hand that had an odd sweatband on it, leaning forward. She studied him carefully, grinning form ear-to-ear. "Wow, you wear that even when you're investigating? That's so cool! You're so awesome, Sir Phoenix Wright, I can't believe I'm finally meeting you; it's such an honor! I can't tell you how long I've waited for this moment; I watched some of your cases on the telly, and I can say that you're the best defense attorney I've ever seen, and I can't wait to be in the same courtroom with you tomorrow! But anyway, I digress; I'm Alex Datenshi, the prosecution tomorrow, Sir Phoenix Wright!"

_**(Uh-oh, someone likes to talk, huh? I have a feeling that she's going to be a bit hard to deal with…)**_

The baffled attorney shook Alex's hand, cocking his head to the side and managed a small smile, mumbling a "Thanks, I guess."

Alex beamed and let go of his hand, squealing again. She turned to Maya and gasped, pointing at her.

"You're Maya Fey!" She exclaimed in surprise, placing a hand over her mouth. "You're Sir Phoenix Wright's assistant, right? You're so lucky! I wish I could be his assistant! But you do a great job! I watched this one case where they thought you killed that one guy…uhm…what was his name again…?" She paused only briefly to remember his name, giving Phoenix a chance to look to Maya and notice that she was thoroughly enjoying her fifteen minutes of fame.

"Oh well, I can't remember, but anyway; I knew you didn't do it from the very beginning; you're too nice to do something like that! You can channel dead people, right? That's so cool! How can you do that?"

Suddenly, the young prosecutor trailed off into thought for one reason or another, allowing the three a moment to think.

_**(Wow…just WOW. How can she talk like that? It's insane!)**_

Alex had begun flattering Pearl when Phoenix tried to talk to her, interrupting the girl politely.

"Um, excuse me, Alex…?"

"Yes, Sir Phoenix Wright?" She turned her attention immediately, looking up while clasping her hands together.

"Uh, well, I was just going to ask you –"

"Ah-ah-ah!" She wagged a cocky finger at the attorney, making him lean away from it. "I can't tell you anything about the case. I'm the prosecutor! You think I'd do that, and mess up my chance at my face-off with you in court? No way, Joe-see!" She folded her arms and shook her head. Adjusting her jean pants, Alex then smiled as she pulled out a pocket watch, pressing a button and gasping when the flap opened and revealed the time. Phoenix rolled his eyes.

_**(I definitely think you mean "José" there, Miss Britain.) **_

"Poor Chris! I've left him waiting out there a long time! I'd better get out there and tell him that I met Sir Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, and Pearl Fey!" She looked up at the trio, all returning a blank stare, and grinned, pushing her glasses back up on her nose and explaining that she must go. She bid them farewell and exited the room, leaving Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl to themselves.

"Heheh…" Maya chuckled while smiling and turning to Phoenix, who was still at a loss for words. "Her weird obsession with you is kinda funny if you think about it, huh, Nick?"

_**(Actually, Maya, no; it isn't. It's kinda creepy.)**_

"I guess so; if you think about it." The attorney stammered, managing a grimace. Pearl didn't seem fazed by it.

"I liked Miss Datenshi! She was really nice, and said lots of nice things about us!" she exclaimed, hopping up and down a bit.

Phoenix shook his head as if to focus back on the investigation. "Well, anyway, let's take a look around. There's bound to be a couple of clues in here."

"Yeah!" The two agreed in unison, nodding and splitting up to different parts of the room.

Phoenix noticed the bloodstains on the carpet next to a large, king-size bed. They were in dribbles, and there were a lot of them.

_**(The bloodstains sure make it look like he was stabbed a whole bunch of times. It doesn't look like the murder came to kill the victim, since they would have used a real weapon had it been pre-meditated. Or maybe, they just want it to look like that…) **_

Phoenix looked up from the carpet just in time to hear Maya say "What's this?" from behind him. The attorney swirled around, following Maya's hand down to a sheet of paper on a small desk across from the bed.

Phoenix took the paper from Maya and read it silently, cocking his head.

"Adoption Papers? What would he want…?"

_**(These are Adoption Papers for Jordin…dated back fifteen years ago yesterday…hm…this could be important.)**_

"Maya, hold onto this." The lawyer passed the sheet of paper to his assistant, who stuffed it into the manila envelope so she wouldn't lose it.

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_**Adoption Papers added to the Court Record.

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"Mr. Nick!" Pearl called from across the room, "Look at all the pretty flowers in here!" The ten-year-old happily pointed to some potted flowers in the corner of the room.

"Hey guys, I don't think we're going to find anything else around here," Phoenix wiped the sweat from his forehead, turning towards the door out into the hallway. "Let's get out of here."

The two girls accompanying him agreed solemnly, and they returned to the hallway.

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March 14 1:36 P.M.

_**Front Driveway**_

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"Hey, Nick!" Maya shouted, pointing at the cement on the driveway into the small garage out front. "Look at this!"

"What?" Phoenix bent over forward to get a better look. "They're just _**tire marks**_." He gestured to a couple of tire skids on the driveway.

"But Mr. Nick…"Pearl interjected, hesitantly biting her fingernail as if trying to remember something. "The victim, Mr. Sterling…_**he didn't own a car!**_"

Phoenix realized she was right. Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly snapped a picture.

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Tire Tracks Photo added to the Court Record.

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"Well, we've got a big day ahead of us!" Maya smiled, striking her fists into the air. "Tomorrow we prove Jordin innocent!"

"The problem is," Phoenix mused, placing a hand to his chin. "Who else could it have been?"

"What do you mean?" Pearl inquired, folding her arms.

"Well, think about it. Even Jordin herself admitted that _**she was the only one in the house**_ during the time of the murder." The attorney explained. "Someone else could have framed her, but we aren't even sure of that yet."

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," Phoenix's female assistant shrugged.

Phoenix smirked smugly, turning the direction of the law offices. "I guess we will." He mumbled under his breath. "I guess we will."

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** TO BE CONTINUED.**

**SAVE**

Save cleared stage data up to this point?


	2. Chapter 2: Trial

**Case: Minor Turnabout**

**Recorded by: NexustehULF0o

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**DISCLAIMER: THE EVENTS RECORDED IN THIS CASE ARE DEPICTED THROUGH PHOENIX WRIGHT, ACE ATTORNEY. PHOENIX WRIGHT, MAYA, MIA, AND PEARL FEY, ALONG WITH ANYONE ELSE IN THE ACE ATTORNEY SERIES BELONG TO CAPCOM, AND ARE NOT MY PERSONAL CREATION.

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**Note: You know how some of the things in the Ace Attorney series are blue, green, orange, etc.? I have bolded and italicized everything that is a different color. In my word document, everything is a different color, but it doesn't show up on , so could you pretend for me? Kthx. =]

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**Chapter 2: Trial

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_**March 15, 8:47 A.M.**_

_**District Court**_

_**Defendant Lobby No.2

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_**(Heh…This should be easy-peasy, Phoenix! Just believe in your client, and relax! Jordin couldn't have done it! But then the question would be…who did?)**_

Jordin approached the attorney, noticing he was deep in thought but attempting to talk to him anyway.

"Mr. Wright?" she began, folding her hands and hanging them at her waist.

"Huh? Yeah?" Phoenix began, shaking his head violently before proceeding in greeting the young woman. "Oh, good morning, Jordin. I'm pulling for a 'Not Guilty' verdict today!"

_**(Yup, that's right Phoenix, reassure the girl you're pulling for a "Not Guilty"…right out of your ass.)**_

"Good morning, Mr. Wright…" The sixteen-year-old was clearly still upset over the death of her father, and Phoenix saw this, his brow narrowing to figure a look of concern.

"Look, don't worry; just smile, and everything'll turn out fine." He said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Jordin managed a faint smile, shrugging. Today she was deeming a dark green skating jacket that read "ELEMENT" across the chest, as well as a pair of ratty blue jeans and some sandals over her skinny, boyish figure. He momentarily wondered why she dressed so casual and rebellious for court.

"I'll be rooting for you." She mumbled softly, placing her head down but still looking up at the attorney.

"That's good to know." He replied with a smirk. The attorney gazed over to the door into the courtroom lobby, where Maya stepped in, glancing left and right for him. Phoenix lifted his hand from the girl's shoulder and began waving at the young heir to the Kurain Spirit Channeling Technique, calling to her from where they stood. The nineteen-year-old quickly noticed their presence and happily skipped over to the two of them.

"G'morning, Jordin!" Maya smiled at the sixteen-year-old warmly, as if she knew that she needed cheering up. Jordin, in return, nodded her good morning before glancing to Phoenix, who thanked Maya as he took the Court Record from her. The attorney turned back to Jordin and flashed her a reassuring grin, nodding as if to say, "You'll be fine!"

The large, muscular bailiff stepped over to them, and very politely stated in his booming voice,

"Court will begin shortly, Mr. Wright; Miss Fey. Please proceed into the courtroom."

Phoenix sheepishly nodded, looking up at the tall, buff African-American man and blinking. If there was anything that were going to scare a criminal, that man in a police uniform would be pretty darn close.

"Defendant, I will escort you to the defendant's chair." The bailiff boomed, taking Jordin's arm and pulling her along with him.

"Good luck," the sixteen-year-old mouthed to the defense attorney as she was pulled away from them. Phoenix managed another faint smile as he watched her go, as if to reassure her not to worry. Maya grinned and placed her hands behind her back, gazing suspiciously over to her friend.

"I really think she believes in you, Nick." The nineteen-year-old mused, cocking her head a little bit to the right. Phoenix suppressed a small chuckle.

"I guess so." He agreed, shrugging.

_**(Whenever Maya tilts her head like that, it reminds me of Mia…)**_

Mia Fey was Maya's older sister, and former owner of Wright and Co. Law Offices. She had been Phoenix's mentor until she was brutally murdered about three years ago, seconds before Phoenix arrived on the scene. Maya, at the scene right when the crime occurred, was accused and later acquitted of charges to Mia's murder. Mia was in fact gone, but it wasn't long until her soul ran through her younger sister – Maya did channel spirits, after all – so she continued to be there when Phoenix was in need of help.

Phoenix realized that he hadn't seen her in almost a year – it suddenly occurred to him how much he missed being in a tight spot.

"C'mon, Nick!" called Maya, beckoning him towards the courtroom doors, "We're going to be late for the trial."

"I'm coming, I'm coming…" he reassured the young woman, shaking his head before trailing off after her.

* * *

_**March 15, 9:00 A.M.**_

_**District Court**_

_**Courtroom No.1

* * *

**_

The long-bearded judge adjusted his black robe before letting his gavel hit his desk with a loud BANG.

"Court is now in session for the trial of one Jordin Nichols." He stated, looking at a piece of paper printed for him.

Phoenix nodded solemnly. "The defense is ready, Your Honor." He announced. The judge looked curiously to the prosecutor's seat, where the wide-eyed girl that Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl had met yesterday was staring at the attorney with figurative stars in her large chocolate brown pupils.

"The prosecution is ready if the defense is ready, Your Honor." She uttered more to Phoenix than she did the judge, snapping out of her trance afterwards and attempting to redeem her professionalism by adjusting the glasses that had fallen down on her nose.

"Mr. Wright," The judge looked suspiciously to the defense's table. "It seems you have an admirer." He motioned his head towards the prosecution.

"I see that. Thank you, Your Honor." He mumbled to the judge, suddenly exasperated.

_**(Well, now that that's been cleared up…)**_

"The prosecution's opening statement, please." The judge looked to Alex, expecting a professional answer.

The young prosecutor thought for a moment, fumbling through her papers before smiling up at the cloaked man.

"The prosecution will strive to the best of its ability to prove that the defendant, one Jordin Nichols, is without a doubt guilty as charged with the murder of victim Sterling Nichols." She announced proudly.

Phoenix's eyes widened to some degree.

_**(Wow, that was about the least egocentric thing I've ever heard a prosecutor say…!)**_

Maya, turning to the defense attorney beside her, took on a confused expression before proceeding in mumbling to her friend.

"Is it just me, or did that sound halfway…decent?" she asked of him, and he softly and subtly nodded her way, raising an eyebrow and turning his attention back to the courtroom activities.

"Before we begin, Your Honor, I would like to present to the court a photo of the scene where this brutal crime took place." Alex held a black and white photo taken with a very expensive camera over her head, as if to help the judge to see it. From across the room it looked rather blurry, but Phoenix could tell it was of the victim in a slumped over position next to his bed.

"Very well; the court accepts this as evidence." The judge stated, lifting his gavel. Alex stepped away from the prosecutor's bench and handed the photo to Phoenix. Phoenix grimaced at the sight of the bloody body before tucking it away with his other pieces of evidence. He looked at the gruesome picture for a good while until he had studied the whole thing.

Sterling Nichols was crouched in the corner of the photo, leaned over with his back up in the air. There was a bed to the left of him, and off to the left of the bed was a large window, looking out onto the driveway and the front yard. The left wall of the room only had a door into the master bathroom, and the door was closed, never opened from the night before.

* * *

_**Crime Photo added to the Court Record.

* * *

**_

BANG!

"The prosecution may call its first witness at any time." The judge told Alex without turning to her.

The courtroom went silent and stayed that way for a good minute or two.

"…" The judge raised his eyebrows and waved his occupied hand as if to bring the baffled prosecution back to earth. "Ms. Datenshi?"

"Yes, Your Honor?" Alex stumbled over her words as she was thrown out of her own little world once more.

"You may proceed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Honor!" The eighteen-year-old apologized profusely, clapping her hands together and bowing. "You see, I am a big fan of Sir Phoenix Wright, and I came to America just so I could watch him…and, sir, just the thought of actually facing him in court has left me a tad stunned, if you will…"

The judge then took on a surprised appearance. "Mr. Wright, you must be very flattered."

Phoenix suddenly felt the beads of sweat from embarrassment forming on his forehead.

"Oh, yes. Quite flattered." He agreed in a mutter.

_**(I have a sinking feeling that the judge and Alex are going to get along just fine…)**_

"All right!" Alex cried, making a fist with one hand. She pointed forward. "The prosecution calls Detective Chris Blade to the stand!"

The detective that Phoenix and his two companions had met yesterday stood from his seat and brushed off his vest, approaching the witness stand and flashing a big smile for the court audience.

Alex smiled at her friend, noticing he had reached the stand. "Name and occupation, sir." She asked, holding out her hand.

"Oh, uh…" Chris started; he adjusted his tie again, making Phoenix slap his forehead in embarrassment. "The name's Chris Blade, and I'm head detective for the case of the murder of Sterling Nichols!" The detective pointed to himself proudly.

"Where is Detective Gumshoe?" The judge inquired, looking to Phoenix. The defense attorney placed his hand behind his head, smiling.

_**(The judge looks at me as if I'm the one to know…)**_

"The last I heard is that he went on a cruise vacation." Phoenix announced, and the judge nodded in reply, turning back to Chris.

"Very well, Detective. You may begin your testimony." He told the seventeen-year-old.

"Yes, sir!" Chris saluted.

* * *

_**WITNESS' TESTIMONY**_

–_**Just the Facts–

* * *

**_

Chris scratched his head before beginning, not wanting to say the wrong thing and let everything fly out. After all, Alex wasn't a liar, but she was a prosecutor. She wanted him only to say the things that she wanted the court to know.

"Well, about two days ago, _**9:15-9:30 P.M.,**_ we got a call from the victim's next door neighbor. She claimed that she saw a woman with the same body shape as the defendant assault a man, and that she had a weapon in her hand. She also said that she was watching the murder from behind a _**closed curtain**_, and so couldn't see the face. We knew that _**about twenty**_ pencils or pens had stabbed into his back, but we could not find any of them on the scene. And since the defendant was the _**only one in the house**_ at the time of the murder, it could have only been the defendant!"

Phoenix shook his head, plastering a grin across his face as he placed his hands about his hips.

_**(This guy's too much like Gumshoe – instantaneously making assumptions. He should know better; he's up against Phoenix Wright!)**_

Maya saw how he was grinning and managed a smile herself.

"Good luck, Nick!" She mumbled to him.

"I won't need your luck just yet, Maya," Phoenix waved at her dismissively as if brushing her luck away. "Save it. I've got this one in the bag."

"Thank you, Mr. Blade," The judge nodded.

BANG!

"Mr. Wright, you may begin with you cross-examination."

Phoenix nodded solemnly, gathering his papers.

"Yes, Your Honor." He replied.

* * *

_**CROSS-EXAMINATION**_

–_**Just the Facts–

* * *

**_

"_**Well, about two days ago, 9:15-9:30 P.M., we got a call from the victim's next door neighbor –"**_

"_**HOLD IT!"**_Phoenix called, pulling out the victim's Autopsy Report. "If the call was made at 9:15-9:30 P.M., then how do we know that this witness isn't the killer?"

Chris blinked, mildly confused. "What do you mean?" he questioned.

Phoenix held up Sterling's Autopsy Report. "It says here that the murder occurred around _**9:00 to 9:30 P.M**_. If the witness called around 9:15, 9:30, then couldn't she have committed the crime and then called the police to make her look innocent?"

The court's audience discussed this for a moment, the judge's gavel ringing out soon afterward to bring the court back to order.

BANG BANG BANG!

"Order!" The judge cried out. "Mr. Wright, what are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying is that you're really jumping to conclusions in saying that the defendant was the only one who could have committed this crime. I'm saying that the witness could have committed the crime and then made the defendant _**look**_ like she was the murderer!"

Phoenix's hopes were suddenly crushed when he heard the prosecutor across from him.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Ah, haha…very nice, Sir Phoenix Wright!" Alex clapped her hands sarcastically. "I applaud your effort!"

"'What?" Phoenix looked a bit confused.

_**(Already? But my**_ _**reason was completely legitimate...) **_

"I have a little surprise for you, Sir Phoenix Wright!" The prosecutor held up a small bag, and inside it was a long, skinny, yellow object, covered in blood.

"What is that?" The judge asked, leaning forward and looking a bit stunned.

Chris, equally stunned if not more so, pointed at the object and gasped a bit.

"Hey, it's a _**pencil**_!" He exclaimed.

"More than just a pencil, my friend," Alex stated, holding the pencil in the bag between her thumb and forefinger, "This pencil was one I picked up from the scene of the crime. Guess what? It's covered in the _**victim's blood,**_ as well as the _**defendant's fingerprints.**_"

"Wh…_WHAT_?" Phoenix cried out in exasperation from the other side of the courtroom, the sweat beginning to bead on his forehead once more.

"Yes, sir." Alex continued, putting on the same face that every prosecutor had whenever they trump Phoenix Wright. "I picked up this pencil when I was looking around the crime scene, and took it in for analysis…they said that _**most of the fingerprints were smudged**_, but that there were some distinct ones that show the defendant's _**left-handed fingerprints**_ all over it."

BANG!

"This is a very crucial piece of evidence, Ms. Datenshi!" The judge exclaimed. "Why didn't you present it at the beginning of court?"

"Believe me, Your Honor," Alex bowed her head a bit, looking up at the judge from where she stood. "I had every intention of presenting this evidence when the opportunity presented itself."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes, glaring over at the prosecutor across from him.

_**(Yeah, and that just happened to be when it was least convenient for me…)**_

"The court most definitely accepts this as evidence!" The judge nodded, and Alex stuffed the plastic bag into her pocket.

* * *

_**Pencil added to the Court Record.

* * *

**_

BANG!

"All right, Mr. Blade, please revise your testimony to reflect what has just occurred." The judge continued, nodding once more.

"Yes, Your Honor." Chris said, smiling.

"…_**She claimed that she saw a woman with the same body shape as the defendant assault a man, and that she had a weapon in her hand."**_

Phoenix pondered over the statement, rubbing his chin.

_**(I don't really see anything wrong with that statement…)**_

"_**She also said that she was watching the murder from behind a closed curtain, and so couldn't see the face –"**_

"_**HOLD IT!" **_Phoenix cried. "How did she know that it was the defendant if she saw the whole thing was through a closed curtain?"

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Does he have to repeat it again, Sir Phoenix Wright?" Alex shook her head while stating this, placing her hand to her right hip after kicking it out. "The witness said she saw a woman with the same body shape as the defendant – that means that the room must have been very well lit. It was entirely possible that she would have been able to recognize the murderer as the defendant."

"_**OBJECTION!"**_

"But how do we know? She did not see the defendant's face." Phoenix retaliated, slamming his hands on the table.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Well, isn't that the age-old question?" She smirked. "Sir Phoenix Wright, remember that we are in a court of law. We are trying to figure out who, in fact, committed this murder. We would not be discussing this if we knew for a fact that it was the defendant. It was impossible to see the defendant's face, but she'd gotten jolly well close enough, hadn't she?"

Phoenix sighed, retreating into silence.

"Well then," The judge interposed, looking between Phoenix and Alex. "Detective, you may continue with your testimony."

"_**We knew that about twenty pencils or pens had stabbed into his back, and we couldn't find any of them on the scene, but I guess Alex found one…"**_

Phoenix shook his head.

_**(Nothing suspicious there. And if I try to ask him something, she'll just wave that pencil around again.)**_

"_**And since the defendant was the only one in the house at the time of the murder, it could have only been the defendant!"**_

_**(There it is!)**_

"Go for it, Nick!" Maya mumbled to the attorney next to her, making a fist with one hand.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

He cried the word boldly, pointing his finger forward. Alex squealed under breath, and Phoenix heard it, although a ways across from her.

"You've slipped up, Mr. Blade." He said, pointing to the witness before the prosecutor adjacent to him. "Excuse me, Ms. Datenshi, if you would hold up that piece of evidence you submitted but a moment ago…"

Alex, reaching into her pocket, pulled out the plastic bag and held it before her, cocking her head as if to ask _What about it?_

"I believe you are wrong in saying that it could have only been the defendant." Phoenix said, grinning. "Because I have proof."

"What?" Chris, rather surprised, stepped back from the witness stand a pace.

"Ms. Datenshi, you said yourself that most of the fingerprints on this pencil were smudged."

"Yes," Alex still looked rather confused.

"Then how do we know that the smudged ones were the defendant's?"

Maya looked rather surprised. "Wow Nick, I didn't think you would be able to pull something like that off!"

_**(Gee thanks, Maya.)**_

He ignored her statement verbally.

Alex, who had gained confidence up to this point, drained of it entirely and stepped back from the prosecutor's bench. "We…don't." She admitted, deeming a surprised expression.

_**(Of course; that's one thing that all prosecutors have in common, isn't it? A huge ego.)**_

"That's right, Ms. Datenshi, we don't." Phoenix retorted as if mocking her, placing both hands on his hips.

BANG!

"Mr. Wright," The judge declared. "This is a very good point you've brought up –"

"_**OBJECTION!"**_

"Then, Sir Phoenix Wright, you wouldn't have any objections if I turned this over to the Criminal Affairs Department, then would you?" She asked, swinging the bag a little bit.

Phoenix's momentum drained.

_**(That knocked everything way off course.)**_

"Uh…" Phoenix rubbed the back of his head with his hand, smiling. "I guess not."

BANG!

"Very well," The judge declared. "We will give Ms. Datenshi time to hand the pencil over for further printing and examination. Until then, Mr. Wright, your cross-examination has ended, and the court is in a twenty-minute recess!"

* * *

_**March 15, 9:28 A.M.**_

_**District Court**_

_**Defendant Lobby No. 2

* * *

**_

"Wow, Nick!" Maya exclaimed, grinning at her friend. "It's not natural for us only to be thirty minutes in and you already make the judge call a recess!"

Phoenix looked rather proud of himself.

_**(The first point I proved in this case so far…that's a good sign…I'll be on a roll soon enough, and then the judge will eventually have to extend the trial to another day…then…)**_

He clenched his fist.

_**(Then we'll find out who really murdered Sterling Nichols!)**_

"Nick?" Maya waved her hand in front of the attorney's face. "Nick, are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Phoenix focused back on his assistant, shaking his head dumbly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm listening…"

"They're probably prepping the next witness now." Maya explained, holding onto the Court Record as if she were guarding it with her life. Her eyes adverted to the large, muscular bailiff standing at the courtroom door and she grimaced at the thought of him.

"Yeah, the one who saw the murder happen, right? From behind a curtain?" Phoenix affirmed as if unconvinced that the aforementioned statement had actually occurred.

"Yeah." Maya stated, nodding. Her eyes drifted to from the bailiff to the suited man in front of her, making a smile stretch across her face. "I'll be rooting for you, Nick!"

Phoenix smiled, but could help but feel a slight case of unsettling déjà vu sinking in.

_I'll be rooting for you…_

The soft voice of the young girl echoed as her picture appeared in the man's mind. His eyes meandered to her, sitting by herself on a small leather seat at one end of the room. One part of him wanted to go and continue to reassure her that he would win the case, but his hesitance won out over that, and he withdrew the thought.

_**(I can't help but feel sorry for her. I don't understand, but something inside me just feels more pain for Jordin than any other client I've ever had…I know that Jordin didn't kill her father – all I have to do now is figure out who did!) **_

"Nick, you're spacing out again – are you okay? Earth to Niiiiiick~!" Maya called quietly, disturbing her friend's train of thought once more by jumping up and down to get his attention.

"What?" The attorney retorted irritably.

"You look troubled." Maya announced, not caring if anyone else was hearing her pry into his thoughts. Phoenix sighed. She was always like this.

"It's nothing," The attorney muttered, dismissing the subject. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay…" Maya shook her head while muttering this under her breath.

The bailiff's booming voice reached the two's ears.

"Court will commence soon. Will the defendant and the defense please return to the bench?"

Phoenix looked up.

_**(Twenty minutes already?)**_

"Wow, it's already been twenty minutes?" Maya asked as if she had read the attorney's mind. "I guess we should get inside, huh Nick?"

"I guess so." Phoenix nodded, and the two started forward, returning into the courtroom once more.

* * *

_**March 15, 9:59 A.M.**_

_**District Court**_

_**Courtroom No. 1

* * *

**_

BANG!

"Court will now reconvene for the trial of one Jordin Nichols." The judge stated, and Phoenix took a deep breath before heaving a sigh. Picking up speech, he stole a glance at the eighteen-year-old prosecutor, who he noticed had begun to speak.

"I had the police at the Criminal Affairs Department take the pencil in for further examination. We should have the results by tomorrow, if not the end of the day."

"Very good, Ms. Datenshi." The judge directed a faint smile at her. It will be crucial to our case once the fingerprints are further examined."

"I only aim to please, Your Honor." Alex bowed slightly, and Phoenix watched as caustic shimmers danced in the eyes of his opponent. Undoubtedly she was looking to see if he were watching her tactics in court as well.

_**(You suck up…)**_

"Ms. Datenshi," The judge started by changing the subject. "I have been informed that you have also been prepping another witness to use after the reconvention?"

"I have, Your Honor." Alex nodded, obviously trying to woo the judge. "With your consent, may I proceed?"

To Phoenix's disappointment, she succeeded.

"You know, Mr. Wright, you could learn some manners from this young lady…" The judge pointed to the young prosecutor, gavel in hand. Phoenix proceeded in pretending to loosen his tie.

"Don't say that, Your Honor!" Alex exclaimed, eyes widening behind her spectacles. "Sir Phoenix Wright is absolutely perfect; he can do no wrong! He is plenty polite!"

Phoenix's eyes also widened to some degree, taken aback by the statement that had called him 'perfect.'

"Wow Nick, it's like, in her eyes, you're some kind of lawyer god!" Maya added her opinion, which didn't make the defense attorney feel any better.

BANG!

"Okay…" The judge adverted his eyes to the young woman for a moment, and then nodded. "Ms. Datenshi, you may proceed in calling your next witness."

"Yes, Your Honor." Alex nodded as well, her hand once again forming a fist before she dramatically pointed forward. "I call the only one who witnessed the murder that night! Anna Banana, please approach the witness stand!"

A woman about sixteen treaded sheepishly to the stand, shaking a good amount. She tried to put on a smile, but it seemed rather impossible for her. Looking down at her white shirt and jean pants, she folded her hands and remained silent.

"Name and occupation, please." Alex began, placing a finger to her nose while looking upwards. It seemed to Phoenix that her mind was currently somewhere else; her face certainly displayed the question _Did I leave the stove on?,_ a question that the attorney could definitely picture the eighteen-year-old asking.

"Uh…" The young lady started, tucking a lock of dirty-blonde hair behind her ear. "My name's…Anna Banana! I'm sixteen years old, and I'm…" It seemed like her spirits sunk for a moment. "And I'm currently unemployed…so I just sit and play video games in my spare time! Which reminds me…like, this one time, I was playing Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, and I was, like, Wolf, and I was totally kicking butt! I was playing online with, like, my friend in California, and I got a homerun bat and I was chasing her around…but I got her eventually…but she, like, totally Final Smashed me. Then she won. But anyway, Lucas is so cute, don't you think?" Phoenix noticed that she seemed quite excited upon her mention of video games – she must like them very much. As for the tangent that ensued afterwards – well, he wasn't so sure about that yet.

BANG!

"Mr. Wright, what are these 'video games' she's talking about? Some newfangled device that I don't understand?" The judge's eyes adverted between the defense attorney and the witness.

Phoenix merely shrugged.

"Ohmaigawsh!" Alex cried from the prosecutor's bench. "Is that any good? I haven't played it yet, and I've totally been DYING to…what are the new characters? Are there any new items? I so totally rock with Ness and Young Link! Is Young Link still in it?"

"I HATE Ness! But no, Young Link isn't in Brawl. They've got this new Link, and he's, like, supposed to be from WindWaker. I've never played WindWaker, but my friends say it's really good…"

"Uh…Excuse me…" Phoenix placed his finger in the air, sweating in slight embarrassment for them both. "Could we get back to the case at hand, please?"

"Oh…" The heads of the prosecutor and her newfound friend snapped up upon hearing Phoenix speak, and they both nodded, adding their own version of "Of course."

"Yes," The judge agreed, adjusting the gavel in his hand. "If you would, Ms. Banana, will you please testify to the court about what you saw on the night of the murder."

Anna nodded, smiling somewhat. Phoenix noticed she wasn't at all apprehensive like she had been before; it was rather odd how someone could change that quickly.

"Yes, Judge!" She agreed happily.

* * *

_**WITNESS' TESTIMONY**_

–_**What I Saw–

* * *

**_

Anna panned her eyes across the court before beginning to speak. The prosecutor said that there was nothing to worry about; she hadn't seen enough to be dishonest about anything. The sixteen-year-old cleared her throat before beginning, smiling and commencing her tale.

"Well, it was _**about 9:05**_ when I started hearing some yelling from next door. I turned from my Wii, because I was playing Guitar Hero III at the time, and I looked out the window. There was a bright purple curtain in front of the window, but I clearly saw a person, specifically with the _**body shape of the defendant,**_ storm out of the room. The other person just stood there watching for another couple of seconds, _**staring towards the door**_ _**before he was attacked by the first person! **_They fell to the ground, and then I saw the first person start _**stabbing the second person**_ with something I couldn't figure out. It was so scary! I called the police and they arrested that one chick sitting in the defendant's chair."

Phoenix sighed.

_**(Why do I feel like if I go to say something, then Alex'll contradict me?)**_

"Mr. Wright, please begin your cross-examination." The judge said, gavel resting at his side.

"Yes, Your Honor." Phoenix said, placing a hand to his hip and nodding while gathering his Court Record.

* * *

_**CROSS-EXAMINATION**_

–_**What I Saw–

* * *

**_

"_**Well, it was about 9:05 when I started hearing some yelling from next door…"**_

"_**HOLD IT!" **_The attorney cried, pointing forward. "How did you know it was 9:05?"

"Well," The young, blonde woman stopped for a moment to think. "There's a couple clocks in my bedroom, aaaaaand…I happened to be looking at my television at the time, that also displayed the time."

Phoenix rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

_**(That would be awfully detailed for a lie.) **_

"Yes, Ms. Banana." The Judge said plainly. "Do not mind Mr. Wright. Continue with your testimony."

Phoenix was snapped out of his thought process, looking startled and a bit unnerved.

_**(What's that supposed to mean?)**_

"_**I turned from my Wii, because I was playing Guitar Hero III at the time, and I looked out the window."**_

The defense attorney nodded.

_**(That's understandable. With all that yelling going on, who could concentrate on a game? She probably turned to the window to see what was going on.)**_

"_**There was a bright purple curtain in front of the window, but I clearly saw a person, specifically with the body shape of the defendant, storm out of the room…"**_

"_**HOLD IT!" **_Phoenix shouted. "Why did they storm out of the room?"

"Well…" Anna began.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Sir Phoenix Wright, of course she isn't going to know that…" Alex placed her hands on her hips, smirking.

"_**OBJECTION!"**_

"Were they fighting over something?" Phoenix continued, ignoring the prosecutor.

"I didn't hear much, but it seemed like they were arguing over something important, although the girl seemed like she was the only one yelling. I think she was crying too."

Phoenix cringed at the thought of seeing Jordin cry.

_**(They must have been fighting over something important. But if there was another person there that killed the victim, then Jordin wasn't the one that Sterling was arguing with…)**_

"I see…" Phoenix trailed off, falling deeper into thought as Alex snickered.

"I don't see your point through all this." She admitted to the attorney, forcing him to pay attention to her. "I mean, it was obvious she wasn't paying attention to the conversation that they had been having."

"Actually," Anna held up her finger, correcting the young prosecutor. "I did hear the girl say something like 'How could you do this and not tell me all this time?' then the guy said something, but I couldn't understand him because he wasn't yelling…but that's about it."

Phoenix took on a thoughtful appearance, nodding as if taking it all in.

_**(That was rather long, and sort of important. It could help me later. What should I do? Add it to the testimony, or leave it be?)**_

The attorney mulled it over for a moment, looking down at the Court Record in his hands.

_**(I need all I can get.)**_

"Your Honor!" Phoenix cried, pointing, "The defense requests that what the witness said just now be added to her testimony!"

"Why?" The judge asked, deeming a curious arch in his brow.

"Well, I found what was last stated by the witness oddly informative." He explained, placing his hand on his hips. "It might be useful for further questioning."

"I see." The judge stated.

BANG!

"Witness!" He called.

"Yes, Your Judgeliness?" Anna smiled at the judge, who looked confused for a moment, but then shook his head.

"Please add a compilation of what you just said to your testimony."

"Yes sir!"

"_**They must have been arguing over something important, because one of them was yelling a lot." **_

Phoenix narrowed his eyes, heaving a sigh.

_**(When she puts it like that, it doesn't sound important at all…)**_

"_**The other person just stood there watching for another couple of seconds, staring towards the door before he was attacked by the first person!"**_

_**(Nothing wrong in that sentence, I guess…)**_

"Nick!" Maya whispered from next to him. "Didn't that last sentence sound a little suspicious to you?"

_**(Actually, no, Maya. It didn't sound like it at all.)**_

"Huh?" Phoenix asked.

"Think about it. When we were in the hallway at Jordin's house, which way was the door into Sterling's room off to?"

Phoenix shut his eyes to remember the hallway in which his two friends and he had visited the day before. Off to the left was Jordin's room, and across from it…

"I guess it'd have to be the right side. Why?" Phoenix was still clueless to where she was leading him.

"Think, Nick!" Maya demanded quietly, stomping her sandaled foot on the floor. "If Sterling was facing the door and the murderer lunged at him from the door then he would have been attacked from –"

"…The front…" Phoenix began digging through the Court Record, pulling out the Autopsy Report and holding it up.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Yes, Mr. Wright?" The judge turned the attorney's way calmly, as if he had become accustomed to his unnecessary shouting.

"Anna," Phoenix replied, lowering the Autopsy Report from over his head. "You said that the victim was facing the door before the murderer attacked him, right?"

Anna nodded, smiling as if he weren't trying to intimidate her.

"Yes," she affirmed.

"That's not quite right, I don't think." A smile blossomed on the defense attorney's face. "You see, the door into the victim's room was to _**your left**_ while you were witnessing this crime, but if he was facing the door, he would have been _**stabbed from the**_ _**front**_." He skimmed the summary of Sterling's Autopsy Report once more, and then looked up, grinning wider than he had before.

"Yes." Anna agreed, oblivious.

"But it clearly says in the Autopsy Report here that the victim was stabbed multiple times…_**in the back. **_You didn't see him stabbed from the front at all! "

Anna's eyes widened in as she realized what he'd said, and that she'd been outwitted.

"Oh!" The sixteen-year-old exclaimed, smiling nervously. "Well, I guess I was just too distracted to see it clearly…it's like the one time that I was talking to my friend while I was playing Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn…"

"_**OBJECTION!"**_

"But…" Alex stammered, eyes widening behind her glasses. "But, but, but…the testimony was near flawless!"

"Oh, it was far from that." Phoenix smirked, folding his arms across his chest.

BANG BANG BANG!

"Mr. Wright?" The judge looked startled and a slight bit appalled at the allegation. "Please explain!"

"If the witness is being entirely truthful in her testimony, then I believe I have a theory." The defense attorney explained.

"Well then, let's hear it." The judge retorted.

"Yes, Your Honor." Phoenix nodded. _**"It is obvious that the witness…**_did not see anything that night!"

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Sir Phoenix Wright, that's impossible!" The prosecutor exclaimed, extending her arms into the air. "She was the one that called the police in the first place!"

Anna looked really confused. "And how would I be 'entirely truthful' if I was saying I saw the murderer kill the victim and I, like, didn't?" She asked.

Phoenix grimaced; wrong answer.

"Mr. Wright." The judge shook his head in shame. "I'm going to have to penalize you. Think about what you are planning to answer before you say it."

"Of course, Your Honor…" Phoenix began, sweating. "But I do have another theory."

"Well then, let's hear it." The judge retorted.

"Yes, Your Honor." Phoenix nodded. _**"It is obvious that the witness…**_was not watching the murder from their room!"

"Wh…What?" Alex was taken aback, eyes widened in shock. She stepped back from the stand as if to balance herself, and ran her fingers through her auburn-colored hair. She took a deep breath before approaching the stand again. "But Sir Phoenix Wright, where was she watching from, then?"

Anna, looking equally stunned, cocked an eyebrow. "And why would I be there?"

"Think about it for a second." Phoenix folded his arms shrewdly. "First, the point that she saw the defendant through a closed curtain is completely ludicrous. And…now that I think about it, there's something else…"

"What is it, Mr. Wright?" The judge inquired, enthralled by the sudden occurrence.

"This picture." Phoenix held up the black-and-white photo that Alex had presented at the beginning of court. "There is a very crucial contradiction in this picture right here."

"What are you talking about?" Alex shook her head in slight embarrassment for the defense attorney. "I think I would have noticed any major contradictions before I presented it to the court if there were any, Sir Phoenix Wright. You're off your bloody rocker!" She spun her finger next to her left temple as if to indicate the attorney was insane. Phoenix rubbed the back of his head with his hand.

_**(What a wonderful analogy, Alex…A **_**bloody**_** rocker, was it?)**_

"There was a chair in the room as well?" The judge exclaimed, "It had been covered in blood?"

"No, Your Honor." Phoenix waved his hand dismissively. "Now, may I please get on with my contradiction?"

"Just go before they stop you again, Nick." Maya, looking almost exasperated as Phoenix felt, muttered his way.

"Where is this contradiction you mentioned, Mr. Wright?" The judge leaned forward in his chair to see the photo more clearly.

Phoenix looked down at the photo and pointed at the wall with the door to the bathroom in it.

"_**TAKE THAT!" **_

He exhibited where he was pointing for the court to see.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, folding her arms.

"I mean, here's the contradiction." Phoenix said, displaying the picture for her. "Look here."

"It's a wall." The judge verified.

"Yes, that's exactly what it is." Phoenix nodded.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Wonderful, Sir Phoenix Wright." Alex clapped her hands in faux congratulation. "It's a wall. You've done a wonderful job."

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"That's not all!" Phoenix apparently wasn't fazed by her mockery of him. "Your Honor, would you mind telling me what's on this wall?"

"A door." The judge replied.

"You got it." Phoenix nodded.

"Okay?" Anna shrugged. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"But, Sir Phoenix Wright…Dammit, why didn't I think of that?" Alex cried, cursing for all the court to hear before looking away.

"Good thinking, Nick!" Maya made a fist with her open hand, previously resting on the defense's bench.

"Witness, will you tell me how you saw that fateful moment from your bedroom window, when there was no window for you to look through?"

"Oh!" Anna's eyes displayed confusion as she voiced the word, along with her face that contorted itself into a perplexed thinking expression. "Ohhhhhhh…"

" 'Oh' is right, Ms. Banana." Phoenix placed his hands on his hips in victory.

"Witness!" The judge was rather angry at this accusation that Phoenix had proven true. "If you did not see the crime occur, then on what bounds did you call the police on?"

"Well…isn't this weird." Anna ignored the judge. "I thought that would most certainly work…it reminds me of the time I was playing the fifth case in Trials and Tribulations. Phoenix, you were so adorable when you were drinking coffee! It was so funny, I was cracking up the whole time –"

"Hold on…" Phoenix stopped the witness, scratching his head. " 'Trials and Tribulations'? 'Playing'? How-?"

"Never mind…" Anna sighed. "I suppose I should tell the truth now, Mr. Wright. I will testify to the court about what I really saw."

"Okay." Phoenix nodded, a bit confused.

_**(This case is weirder than I expected…)

* * *

**_

_**WITNESS' TESTIMONY**_

_**-What Really Happened-

* * *

**_

Anna cleared her throat again, as she did before she testified the first time. Smiling broadly, the fact that she lied to the court about everything the first time seemed to have no effect on her.

"First of all, I walk my dog before I go to bed every night. So, around nine, I went out to walk her just like I always do. By this point, the yelling had already stopped and I heard a _**door slam**_. I looked up at the window where everything was coming from and I noticed that there was someone that was _**hanging from the window! **_I couldn't see who it was, but they looked like they were trying to get in, so I assumed they were a _**burglar**_. Without hesitation, I ran back to my house and called the police!"

"Hmm…this testimony seems to be a bit more…believable." The judge nodded.

"It's the truth." Anna confirmed, smiling.

BANG!

"Very well," the judge said. He nodded to the defense attorney. "You may begin your cross-examination."

"Yes, Your Honor." Phoenix, looking down at the Court Record, agreed.

* * *

_**CROSS-EXAMINATION**_

_**-What Really Happened-

* * *

**_

Scratching his head, Phoenix just couldn't concentrate on the Cross-Examination.

_**(I just don't understand. This witness is pointless. But this new person…the one who was climbing through the window…this will bring things into light, I bet you.)**_

"_**First of all, I walk my dog before I go to bed every night."**_

Phoenix shook his head.

_**(Nothing.)**_

"_**So, around nine, I went out to walk her just like I always do."**_

_**(Nothing there either.)**_

Looking up at the prosecutor's bench, Phoenix could feel Alex's eyes probing him, as if searching for a way to beat him. He figured this had become more than just an examination of his tactics. He hurriedly turned his attention back to the Court Record.

"_**By this point, the yelling had already stopped and I heard a door slam."**_

_**(She mentioned the yelling before in her other testimony.)**_

Phoenix thoughtfully picked up a piece of evidence as if searching for something that would contradict her statement. There was none.

"_**I looked up at the window where everything was coming from and I noticed that there was someone that was hanging from the window!"**_

Phoenix scratched his chin, turning to the prosecutor that had become utterly bored. She looked over to the judge, sighing heavily afterward. She fiddled with her hair and tucked it behind her ear, leaning over the prosecutor's bench and looking away.

"_**HOLD IT!" **_Phoenix called, starling her a bit and making her stand straighter in the air.

"Yes?" Anna asked politely.

"Did you know this person?"

"Well…" Anna started, tapping her nose, "Not particularly. But then again, I was looking at their butt…I don't think I could really tell from just that…"

"On with the testimony!" Alex cried joyously, cradling her chin in her hands with her elbows resting on the prosecution bench.

Phoenix sighed.

_**(What a weird chick…)**_

"_**I couldn't see who it was, but they looked like they were trying to get in, so I assumed they were a burglar."**_

"_**HOLD IT!"**_

"Yes?" Anna asked again, folding her hands behind her back.

"Why did you assume it was a burglar?" Phoenix questioned.

"_**OBJECTION!" **_

"Sir Phoenix Wright, people do not just hang out of their own windows. Miss Banana here simply thought that if they were hanging out of the window, they were trying to get in. That's all."

A bead of sweat dripped from Phoenix's face.

_**(I asked the witness, not you, Alex.) **_

"_**Without hesitation, I ran back to my house and called the police!"**_

"Mr. Wright?" The judge turned towards the man, eyebrow raised over his head in inquiry. "What is the outcome of the cross-examination?"

"The defense…" Phoenix thought it over for a moment. "The defense claims that this girl is telling the truth. I have nothing wrong with what she just said."

"Oh really?" Alex asked, cocking her head. "So are you saying that everything that she is saying is the truth?"

"I'm saying that I trust it as that. I find no evidence that I can prove it wrong with." Phoenix retorted. "I pressed a few things, but the circumstances, as well as her reasoning for them, all seem valid."

"I see." Alex folded her arms and remained silent from then on.

"There's one more question I'd like to ask." Phoenix placed his hand to his chin, adverting his eyes to the sixteen-year-old in front of him.

Anna turned his way, smiling to the defense attorney. "Yes, Mr. Wright?"

"Why did you lie?" Phoenix cocked his head a bit to the side, as if to indicate he were asking an amiable question.

"Well, I suppose it would be for dramatic effect," Anna stared off as if to think about it before answering. "You know, because there's so much drama in your games, Mr. Wright…"

BANG!

"Enough questioning." The judge nodded his head. "I dismiss Anna Banana from the witness stand."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Anna bowed slightly and returned to her position in the audience.

"Well, I see that we will have to prolong this trial another day," The judge mused, making Phoenix grin. "We have to wait for the pencil to finish being examined, anyway."

_**(That gives me more time to find clues to actually committed this murder!)**_

BANG!

The judge, looking between Phoenix and the prosecutor across from him, smiled politely.

"Court is adjourned!"

* * *

_**March 15, 11:46 A.M.**_

_**District Court**_

**_Defendant Lobby No.1_

* * *

**

"Wow, Nick, you did awesome!" Maya congratulated him after they had come out of the courtroom doors. Phoenix smiled at the nineteen-year-old as if to say "Thanks." Jordin Nichols approached them steadily, smiling softly.

"You did a good job, Mr. Wright." She mumbled.

"Thank you," Phoenix replied, although he could see she was rather depressed that they still suspected her. "But don't worry, okay? They'll see tomorrow that you didn't do anything."

"All right." Jordin nodded once, and looked to the bailiff. "I have to go back to the Detention Center now," she told the both of them. Maya smiled.

"Okay, we'll swing by later." She reassured the sixteen-year-old. Jordin adjusted her jacket and nodded again.

"Okay."

And the bailiff led her away.

"Oh, Sir Phoenix Wriiiight!" Alex bounded over to the defense attorney and his assistant, grinning widely at them.

"Sir Phoenix Wright, it was everything I dreamed it would be!" She exclaimed, clasping her hands together with the figurative stars occupying her eyes once more. "You were so great, and I am thoroughly awaiting the case tomorrow!"

"Uh…" Phoenix looked between Alex and Maya, blinking. Maya was smiling blindly, perfectly fine with the prosecutor's presence. "Me too?" He replied.

"All right!" Alex folded her arms in a competitive manner, "But don't expect me to go so easy on you!" And, just as fast as she had come, she was gone.

"Ugh…" Phoenix, wiping the sweat off of his forehead, glanced at his assistant. "That girl bothers me sometimes…"

Clearly that wasn't what Maya had on her mind.

"Hey Nick…" She smiled broadly up at the lawyer. "Let's go get burgers!"

"What?" Phoenix was a bit startled. "Are you going to pay for it all?" He leaned forward to loom over her.

Maya just kept on smiling, folding her arms in front of her and trying to look cute.

"Nope!" She exclaimed. "You know I don't have any money, Nick! I'm about as broke as Gumshoe is!"

Phoenix just laughed, leaning away and playfully shoving her towards the door.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

**SAVE**

**Save cleared stage data up to this point?**


	3. Chapter 3: Investigation: Part One

**Case: Minor Turnabout**

** Recorded by: NexustehULF0o

* * *

**

**DISCLAIMER: THE EVENTS RECORDED IN THIS CASE ARE DEPICTED THROUGH PHOENIX WRIGHT, ACE ATTORNEY. PHOENIX WRIGHT, MAYA, MIA, AND PEARL FEY, ALONG WITH ANYONE ELSE IN THE ACE ATTORNEY SERIES BELONG TO CAPCOM, AND ARE NOT MY PERSONAL CREATION.**

* * *

**Note: You know how some of the things in the Ace Attorney series are blue, green, orange, etc.? I have bolded and italicized everything that is a different color. In my word document, everything is a different color, but it doesn't show up on , so could you pretend for me? Kthx. =]**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Investigation

* * *

**

_**March 15, 12:43 P.M.**_

_**Wright & Co. Law Offices

* * *

**_

Maya grinned and rubbed her stomach as if to emphasize her lack of hunger.

"Those burgers were the best I've ever had!" She cried out in satisfaction, making Phoenix sigh and sink lower in his chair.

_**(…I'm getting tired of burgers…and my wallet being so…empty…)**_

Pearl skipped into the room happily, greeting the two upon noticing them. She grinned, clasping her hands together.

"Good afternoon!" She nodded to them both, making them both force a smile.

"Oh, Pearly!" Maya remembered as if a light bulb had appeared over her head. She held up a take-home box, moving towards Pearl. "We brought you lunch." She explained. Pearl smiled wider and went to meet her cousin halfway, taking the small Styrofoam box from her and nodding as if to say "Thank you."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Pearl turned around and rushed to the door, placing the box on the office table beforehand. Both Maya and Phoenix heard the door to the Law Offices creak open before there was silence for a few moments.

Phoenix cocked and eyebrow.

_**(I wonder who it is…?)**_

Pearl and a young blonde girl stepped back into the room. She looked quite sheepish for a moment, but then she waved at the lawyer with a brisk "Hi!"

Phoenix and Maya instantly recognized her as Anna Banana, the second witness in the day's trial.

"Hello, Mr. Wright." Anna said again, noticing that neither she nor Maya had said anything to her yet.

_**(What the heck is she doing here?)**_

"Well, hey, Anna…" Maya started, waving as well.

"The trial today…" The former witness muttered under her breath, "Look, I could find no other way to…"

"It doesn't matter now," Phoenix cut in, silencing her. "The trial's over. All that matters now is that you told your story and it's done with."

"Mmmmh…" Anna sighed, looking away for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Maya cocked her head while asking the question, noticing the same question on Phoenix's face as well.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to give you this." Anna said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a scrap of paper and handing it to the defense attorney.

"What is it?" Phoenix asked, looking at the folded scrap curiously.

"I thought you might want a documented version of my testimony, so you know what I really saw." She nodded, smiling faintly and pointing to it.

Phoenix nodded, unfolding the small, wrinkled piece of paper to reveal bubbly, yet neat handwriting scribbled down.

_Well, I went out walking my dog that night like I always did that time of night. And when I walked by Jordin's house, there was the bottom half of a person hanging out of the second story window. Assuming it was a burglar, I ran home and called the police._

The note then proceeded to apologize profusely for lying to the court. Phoenix smiled. "Hmmm…might come in handy. Thanks."

* * *

_**Anna's Testimony shoved into pants pocket.

* * *

**_

"Anyway, I probably should be going…" Anna smiled and shrugged, folding her hands in front of her after waving with one of them.

"All right; thank you very much for stopping by!" Pearl cried politely, waving to Anna as she returned to the door.

And Anna was gone.

Maya shrugged. "I thought that her and Alex really hit it off in court today." She told the attorney, who shrugged in agreement.

Pearl grinned, which soon spread to her older cousin. "So, where are we off to today, Mr. Nick?" The younger asked, hopping a bit. Phoenix shrugged and stood, engaging in a wide, sleepy stretch.

"We still don't know who did it yet." He told the two of them. "We need to stop by the _**Criminal Affairs Department**_ in order to get this thing checked out," He held up the uPod briefly, glancing at it for a moment before placing it back into his pocket, "And I'd like to see if we can visit the place where Sterling worked."

"All right!" Maya cried, clapping her hands together once. "Then what're we doing here? Let's get going!"

"Yeah!" Pearl agreed. "So we're going to the Crim…Criminal…umm…"

"The Criminal Affairs Department," Phoenix finished, smiling down at the ten-year-old.

Pearl just grinned cutely at him.

_**(Off to see Detective Blade, I guess…)

* * *

**_

_**March 15, 1:07 P.M.**_

_**District Criminal Affairs Dept.

* * *

**_

As the trio stepped in the door, they were greeted by Detective Blade's cheerful smile and a brisk adjustment of his tie.

_**(Seriously, what is it with this guy and his tie?) **_

"Good afternoon!" The detective said, holding his clipboard at his side.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Detective!" Pearl smiled at the teenager and waved. The three of them met the detective halfway from where he was across the room, Phoenix taking the MP3 Player from his pocket and showing the detective.

"Aw, a uPod! And a nice one too! Hey, is that yours?" Chris asked, pointing to it. Phoenix sighed, politely pushing it toward him. "I never expected you to be a fan of light green –"

"We need you to figure out when this was last used. Do you know how to do that?" The lawyer pointed at it after the detective took it from him, watching the sheen reflect off of it.

"Aw, o'course!" Chris replied, waving his hand dismissively. "That's easy! You just go from the drop-down menu, press "settings"…from there, you got to " 'settings' options"…then " 'settings options' options"… You scroll down using the touch pad until you see "Tools"…"

Phoenix sighed, exasperated.

_**("Aw, that's easy!" he says. What are all these directions for?)**_

"Hmmm…" Detective Blade scratched his chin for a moment cocking his head as well as raising an eyebrow slightly. "That's funny…"

"What is it?" Phoenix asked, looking to the screen. It showed a bunch of columns extending in into four rows. The first row read, "Date," the next "Time," the third "Duration," and the last "File."

"Well, Mr. Wright…" He began, looking closer before adjusting his glasses. "It says here that this MP3 Player was last used…_**a month ago**_." He pointed to the "Date" column.

"A month ago?" Maya repeated, startled slightly. "But…"

"Yeah, it strongly conflicts with Jordin's testimony." Chris nodded, standing straight. "Didn't she say _**she was listening to this while the murder occurred**_? That is…assuming it _is _hers."

Phoenix gulped loudly.

_**(This could be bad.) **_

"Mr. Nick…" Pearl trailed off, glancing to the attorney.

* * *

_**MP3 Player updated in the Court Record.

* * *

**_

Phoenix slipped the uPod back into his pocket before nodding to the detective. "Thanks, Detective Blade."

Maya smiled weakly, although things looked bleak. "I think we should go pay Jordin a visit and straighten this all out."

Pearl nodded. "I agree."

Phoenix gazed over at his two companions before nodding solemnly.

"Let's go." Maya turned for the door.

"Leaving already?" Chris asked, smiling and waving at the all of them while still keeping a firm hold on his clipboard. "All right; be seeing you!"

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Detective!" Pearl smiled cheerily and waved back at the detective before the three of them left for the Detention Center.

* * *

_**March 15 1:35 P.M.**_

_**Detention Center

* * *

**_

"Oh. Hello, Mr. Wright."

Today, Jordin was sporting a purple jacket with a dark blue shirt that had a bright red circle with a line running diagonally through it. Phoenix couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed as he, Maya, and Pearl sat down.

"Jordin." He said to her expectantly, reaching his hand into his pocket. "I need to ask you something."

"Yes. Anything." Jordin nodded to him, managing a small smile. He looked down at his hand in his pocket.

_**(I should lead into it…I shouldn't ask her right away.)**_

"Where does your dad work?" He asked casually. Maya shot him a confused glance, but he ignored it. Jordin looked surprised as well.

"Uh…well…He works at Goody Jewelers. It's right down the street from my house. It's that small shop on the right side of the street." She replied, pointing as if directing him where to go. Phoenix nodded.

"Okay." He said, scribbling the notes down on a piece of scrap paper.

_**(After all, that's where we're headed next. I did kind of a bad job of leading into it, but it'll have to do.)**_

"Is that all you came here for, Mr. Wright?" The girl asked, causing the lawyer to shake his head.

"Actually…there was one other thing." He replied. The sixteen-year-old lifted her head as if interested.

"Jordin…" He leaned in a bit. "You were listening to your MP3 Player _**while the murder took place**_, right?"

The girl looked a bit shocked. She leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, and a pink blush dusted her cheeks.

"Ye…" She trailed off after that, looking away from the three of them.

Suddenly glass between them and everything around Phoenix flashed its reciprocal color. It all faded to black around the two of them as chains appeared across Jordin. Three red trick locks barred him from releasing the secrets of her heart.

Such is the power of the Magatama.

"The Psyche-Locks…" he mumbled under his breath. Jordin looked up sorrowfully watching him for a moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The girl mumbled softly.

_**(Jordin…why…why would you lie to me?)**_

"Nick!"

"Mr. Nick!"

Phoenix shook his head violently, turning around quickly to face the two girls sitting behind him.

"Was it the Magatama?" Pearl asked him, cocking her head cutely to the side.

"Yeah." The attorney nodded in return. "Three of them."

"Why don't you see what you can break?" Maya suggested. Phoenix shrugged.

"I guess I could give it a try. But I never know what she's going to ask. I might not have the right information."

"I believe in you, Mr. Nick!" Pearl smiled, thrusting her small fist into the air. Phoenix smiled faintly.

"Thanks, Pearl. I'll give it a try." He told her before turning back around to face the teenage defendant. She looked at him with worry; she was upset. He still kept his weak smile on while reaching into his pocket and grabbing the smooth stone with his hand. Pulling it out of his pocket, he presented it to her.

"_**TAKE THAT!"**_

Everything turned their opposing color on the color wheel once more and then faded to black. Now it was just he and Jordin, separated by chains, Psyche-Locks, and the secrets of her heart. She still looked rather upset as he shifted nervously in his chair.

* * *

_**-On the Night of the Murder…-

* * *

**_

"All right Jordin, it's time to tell me what you were really doing on the night of the murder."

"But, I already told you, Mr. Wright, I was locked in my room, listening to my music."

"Oh really? I find that hard to believe. I don't think you were in your room when the murder happened."

"…Oh yeah? Well, where's your proof?"

"Huh?"

"You need proof to make it true, right? _**Well, do you have any proof that I wasn't in my room at the time of the murder?**_"

Phoenix, staring at the green item for a moment, displayed the MP3 player for the girl to see.

"_**TAKE THAT!" **_

"This is your MP3 Player, right?"

"Yes, it is. How did you get that?"

"I picked it up during an investigation at your house. And what I noticed about it is that…it was last used…_**a month ago.**_"

"…Was it…?"

"Yes…I asked Detective Blade to figure it out for me. And he showed me that you used did _not _use this uPod on the night of the murder!"

"Oh…!"

One of the trick locks on the chains surrounding her shattered into tiny bits and pieces before disappearing.

"…You're right. I wasn't in my room at the time of the murder, Mr. Wright. But why do you care? Aren't you supposed to be defending me?"

"Yes, but I want the truth from you as well. So, what were you really doing when the murder?"

"Well…I…I was outside. Picking flowers from the garden in our backyard. Daddy wanted me to so we could put them in a vase for the dinner table."

"I said I wanted the truth from you, Jordin."

"…What? That was the truth, Mr. Wright!"

"No, it wasn't, because picking flowers, especially in your flower garden, would make this person very angry!"

He displayed a picture of the victim, Sterling Nichols. Her father.

"_**TAKE THAT!" **_

"…Your father. Detective Blade and even you told me he was into _**saving the environment**_. Especially growing his flower garden out in the backyard. Why would he want you to pick those flowers if they were so precious to him?"

"…Um…uh-oh."

Another of the trick locks burst into tiny fragments and then vanished.

"You know, Jordin…I think I have an idea of what you were doing during the time of the murder."

"What could you know?"

"Truthfully, I think you were talking with this person…"

Glancing down for a moment, Phoenix looked through his evidence. Nothing. He looked again. Nothing. How could he not know? He looked from her to the facts he had gathered. Nothing matched the question he'd asked. After a long while of deciding, he sighed, closing his folder.

(I think I should gather more evidence before I go any further.)

"Mr. Nick?" Pearl stared at Phoenix, tapping the lawyer on the shoulder.

"Pearl?" He asked, shaking his head in order to get used to the bright lights upon him once more.

"Did you break the locks?" Maya asked, leaning forward in her seat. The attorney shook his head again, only slower this time.

"No. I don't have the right evidence." He explained. Maya hung her head ever so slightly, exhibiting her disappointment.

"Where to now, then?" Maya posed, placing a finger to her chin.

"To Goody Jewelers, I suppose. I want to know more about Sterling. See if we can find any more evidence." He justified the reason for going to the place, although even he doubted they would find anything there.

"So, is there anything else you want ask me?" Jordin said softly, as if they hadn't ever discussed through the Magatama. He smiled.

"Nope. That's all. We might be back to talk to you later, though." The attorney prophesized while scratching his head. A fragile smirk crept across the teenager's face.

"I see. Goodbye, then." She waved once as the three left the room.

* * *

_**March 15 1:35 P.M.**_

_**Goody Jewelers

* * *

**_

As Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl stepped in the door to the shop of which they'd been directed to, a small, high-pitched bell rung, obviously letting the owner know they had arrived. A large man in a tacky purple suit with wild red hair came through the "Employees Only" door, wearing a big smile on his face. Phoenix cleared his throat and prepared for some sales technique.

"Oh, wow, Nick! Look at all the shiny things they have for sale!" Maya cried, placing her face up to the glass. The attorney rolled his eyes as the younger of the two cousins skipped after the older one. The man in the purple suit laughed, his stomach jiggling ever so slightly.

"Well, well!" He boomed, placing his hands on his hips. "I expected to sell, but I didn't expect this young lady to sell for me!" Turning to Phoenix with a bright smile on his face, the man took his hands of his hips and placed them on the glass counter. "I'm Johnston Goody, the manager and owner here at Goody Jewelers. What can I do you for?" He nodded the lawyer's way. Phoenix glanced to the Court Record in his hand.

"Actually, Mr. Goody, we're not here to look at your merchandise. I'd like to ask you a couple questions about your former employee, Sterling Nichols."

"_Former_ employee?" The manager looked rather confused as he inquired he question. "I believe I still have Sterling on the payroll…why? Did he quit? Is that why you're here?"

"Mr. Goody, Mr. Nichols is _dead._" Phoenix broke the news.

The jeweler gasped, eyes widening in terror and realization.

"I'm Phoenix Wright, the attorney defending Sterling's daughter Jordin is who is a prime suspect in her father's murder. I'm here to ask you a few questions. If there is anyone you know who you think may have murdered Sterling, please, let me know."

"Ask anything." He told them, nodding while placing his hands in his pockets. "Anything to find out who murdered Sterling."

"All right." Phoenix replied, turning to the Court Record. Flipping through a couple of papers, he lawyer cleared his throat and began.

"Could you tell me a little about yourself, Mr. Goody?"

The jeweler scratched his throat for a minute, mulling the question over. "Certainly." He nodded. "My full name: Johnston Goody. I've owned this shop for the better part of seven years. I'm fifty-two years old and married to a fine woman. I have two children."

"And the shop?" The attorney asked.

"It was empty before I rented it. I pay about $300 a month. The shop –" He looked around for a moment, "has only ever had two employees. Sterling and Woody. They've been the best employees that a boss could ever have. Woody's worked here since the place opened; Sterling started workin' here about four years ago."

"Woody?" Phoenix exchanged a look between him and Maya, as if silently asking if she'd heard his name come up yet. The lawyer took out a pencil and a memo pad.

"_**Woody Sakano**_. He's an old friend. Has a kid. _**Tom**_, I believe. About Jordin's age. Hold on, I think I have a picture." The man darted back into the back room, coming back out with a picture frame.

There stood the victim, Sterling, wearing a light brown jacket and a tan shirt underneath it. He wore a pair of old faded blue jeans and…a strange ring he'd not seen prior to this sparkled from the sun on Sterling's left ring finger and intrigued the attorney, but he brushed it off as a mere shrug.

And his daughter, Jordin, of course, deemed her ever-tomboyish attire – a baggy t-shirt with a band never heard of before and black capris with a patch sewn into them.

In the middle was Goody, but he was wearing the same thing he was today.

Adjacent to Goody were two people that hadn't been mentioned.

"Just got this picture from the developer's about a week ago." Johnston told them, pointing to a tall, scrawny man with messy blonde hair and a rather dorky, family man kind of wardrobe. "That's Woody. He's really tall, and kinda quiet. That's his son –" He pointed to the person with Woody's hands on their shoulders. They had long brown hair to about their shoulders and were wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt as well as a pair of jeans. They had a smile on their face that seemed conjured up; fake. Phoenix raised his eyebrow, rather confused.

"Is that a boy or a girl?" he asked, looking at Maya and Pearl, who both shrugged.

Johnston's booming laugh echoed throughout the jewelry store walls.

"That's a boy, obviously! He comes around the store and helps out every now and then."

Phoenix nodded, standing straight.

_**(I think I know where we're going next.) **_

"When was this picture taken?" Maya inquired, in thought.

"_**About a week ago**_, at the park just down the road." Goody answered, pointing as if directing them. "Sterling and Jordin would always take walks there on Sterling's lunch breaks after she got out of school."

"I see." Phoenix nodded. "Mr. Goody, if it's all right with you, may we keep this picture?" He questioned, subtly pointing to the photo.

"By all means!" The jeweler cried. "Didn't I say anything?"

"You did."

* * *

_**Photo of Sterling and Jordin added to the Court Record.

* * *

**_

"Please, take a look around! See what you can find!" The man stepped to the side, smiling and holding out his hand. "I'm allowing you special permission into the 'Employees Only' room! Check anyplace you like!"

"You hear that, Nick! 'Employees Only'! And we're not even employees!" Maya quipped, grinning. Phoenix however, simply rolled his eyes, shook his head, and stepped forward.

_**(What an honor.)

* * *

**_

_**March 15 1:58 P.M.**_

'_**Employees Only' – Sterling's Office

* * *

**_

"Wow. Jordin really doesn't take after her dad, does she?" Maya asked as they entered the victim's office. "He's so neat and clean…"

It was true. Everything was in order. From files to assets; pictures to merchandise waiting to be paid for or shipped, Sterling was an ideally tidy man.

"Not anything seems to be out of order…" Pearl mused, scanning Sterling's desk that had some papers stacked on it. "He was so clean! He must have been a very nice man!" The young girl exclaimed, smiling.

"Uh-huh." Phoenix agreed, scanning the floor as his foot scuffed over it.

_**(Not all clean guys are nice, Pearl…)**_

"Do you see anything?" The attorney changed the subject as he began searching the room, looking for evidence useful to the case…and Jordin's Psyche-Locks.

"Nothing over here." Maya stood up from her hunched position at Sterling's bookcase, shaking her head slightly. Phoenix shrugged.

"Nothing over here either," he replied to his assistant.

"Huh." She trailed off into thought, placing her finger to her nose and looking upward.

"What about you, Pearls?" The defense attorney asked amiably. "Did you find anything?"

"Uh…Mr. Nick? Would this be something important?" The ten-year-old questioned in return, holding up a small picture frame. Taking the small frame, Phoenix saw the face of a small dog staring back at him, tongue lolling out of its long tannish snout. The man sighed, shaking his head no.

"No, Pearls. This is a picture of the victim's dog; it's nothing we need." He answered. Pearl thought for a moment.

"But is not a picture of the victim's doggie," she explained after a few seconds. Phoenix raised an eyebrow, slightly interested.

"Whose is it, then?" Maya posed, sounding almost as intrigued as Phoenix did.

"Yeah, and why would Sterling have a picture of their dog on his desk?"

"Uh…" The girl began to respond, holding out her small hand as if to ask for the picture back. "I think this picture came with the frame."

"What?" The man cried taking a second look. "Oh, yeah. It is." True enough, the company was printed on the bottom left corner. "Why would he want something like that?"

"Maybe…he thought the dog was cute?" Maya mused.

_**(Sterling just doesn't seem the type to have a picture of a dog that's not his…)**_

"Not that I think about it, I don't think they owned a dog…" Phoenix thought. This conversation was going nowhere.

"I've got it! I know who killed Sterling!" Maya exclaimed, shooting her finger up in the air.

"WHAT?" Phoenix cried, shocked as well as confused. Maya grinned.

"It's obvious if you think about it! Of course, _**the man who took the picture of the dog **_would want to kill Sterling because it was rightfully his! It was the last picture of his dog! Sterling wanted it because of the organic frame and the photo of the cute dog inside! I mean, the face of that puppy is irresistible!" The spirit medium rubbed her chin, delving deep into thought. "Pearly, help me; now where would we find a dog photographer…?"

The attorney's palm hit his forehead and he slowly lowered it over his face.

_**(Where on earth did this topic come from? That's what I get, I guess…) **_

"I don't think that anything is in here." The attorney shrugged. "Let's go take a look in Woody's office."

"Okay!" Maya exclaimed, raising her finger in the air just as dramatically as the last time she'd done it. "To…the next room!" And with that, she trotted boisterously out into the hallway.

"To…the next room!" Pearl repeated, bounding after her cousin while placing her hands regally on her hips and holding her head high.

Phoenix merely shook his head.

_**(They sure know how to be cheery in the middle of a murder case, don't they?)

* * *

**_

_**March 15 2:23 P.M.**_

'_**Employees Only' – Woody's Office

* * *

**_

This room looked considerably smaller, due to the fact that Sterling's was so much cleaner. Not that Woody's office was dirty, Sterling's was just…perfect.

Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl stepped into the room, only to have their hopes shattered.

"This one's not so clean…" Maya muttered in mild dismay.

"Uh-huh." Pearl added.

Phoenix agreed, but didn't voice it due to the determination to find Sterling's killer welling up inside him. He wanted to find the person who took Jordin's father away from her. Not just for her, but for him too. He had been debating on whether he could do this from the get-go, but now…now he knew.

"Come on, you two…let's get looking." He began, and crouched down to search through the bookcase beside him.

Upon reaching Woody's desk, a hastily half-closed drawer caught the attorney's eye. Sneaking over to it, Phoenix slid it open, ruffling its contents with utmost ease. Most of it was junk – files, paperwork, pencils, pens…

Hmmm…what did we have here?

He pulled out a small wedding-band-looking ring, not polished in a while, but still rather shiny. Mentally, he wondered if Woody forgot his ring here, or if he was thinking about having Johnston polish it. It was a rather bland ring. Pulling out the Court Record to see if Woody may have been wearing a ring at the time, he accidentally took out the Crime Photo – the one with Sterling lying bleeding in a crunched ball. Glancing the picture over quickly, he double-took the victim's arms, thrown out behind him. His eyes peeled the picture; the blood dripping from the many stab wounds on his back, his head fallen face first into the short-furred, rough carpet, his hands open limply, holding nothing but the blood that had pooled in them…Shaking his head to rid himself of the gruesome scene, he proceeded in putting the photo away.

Wait.

His left hand.

He wasn't wearing his ring.

Sterling _wasn't wearing his ring. _

The attorney stood.

"Mr. Goody!" he exclaimed, trotting out the door without alerting his companions.

"Yes?" The man called back, looking up from his lonesome work.

"Tell me, where does Mr. Sakano and family live?" He held the ring above his head, realizing now that it was a risk to be taking, but he would worry about that later.

_**(For now, I need to worry about Woody Sakano – I'm sure he has more to do with this case!)**_

* * *

** TO BE CONTINUED.**

_**SAVE**_

**Save cleared stage data up to this point?**


	4. Chapter 3: Investigation: Part Two

**Case: Minor Turnabout **

**Recorded by: NexustehULF0o

* * *

**

**DISCLAIMER: THE EVENTS RECORDED IN THIS CASE ARE DEPICTED THROUGH PHOENIX WRIGHT, ACE ATTORNEY. PHOENIX WRIGHT, MAYA, MIA, AND PEARL FEY, ALONG WITH ANYONE ELSE IN THE ACE ATTORNEY SERIES BELONG TO CAPCOM, AND ARE NOT MY PERSONAL CREATION.

* * *

**

**Note: You know how some of the things in the Ace Attorney series are blue, green, orange, etc.? I have bolded and italicized everything that is a different color. In my word document, everything is a different color, but it doesn't show up on , so could you pretend for me? Kthx. =]**

* * *

_**March 15, 2:57 P.M.**_

_** Sakano Household **_

_**Doorstep**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**DING-DONG.**_

Phoenix stepped back from ringing the doorbell and waited a bit nervously by the door. A few minutes passed, and nobody answered.

"Maybe…" Maya started, placing a finger to her nose. "Maybe they aren't here."

Phoenix, looking at his watch momentarily, realized it was around three o'clock, and if someone wasn't here, they were never going to figure out who actually murdered Sterling.

Then, the door unlocked.

A person about three-fourths Phoenix's height stood before them, the three of them instantaneously recognizing him, although today he wore a pair of black pants and no shoes.

"Hello!" Pearl blurted, happily waving.

"Yeah?" the teenager leaned on one hip.

"Um, hi." Phoenix began. "This is…the Sakano residence, isn't it?"

"Mhmm. I'm Tom." The boy nodded. "You here to sell something? My dad's not home right now."

"Oh." Phoenix looked apprehensively away for a moment. "Well, could we talk to you, then?"

"I don't have any money." He replied, sounding rather bored.

"No, we're here to investigate the murder of Sterling Nichols." Maya explained, cutely placing her hands behind her back. "We were told your father had some contact with the victim."

"Sterling Nichols?" The boy's eyes grew wide. "You mean…as in Jordin Nichols' dad?"

"Yes." Pearl replied before Phoenix had the chance.

The boy's face went beet red as he nodded towards the three of them.

"Well…well I guess I could…" he muttered, moving away from the door. "Come in."

Phoenix sighed.

_**(Maybe Woody wasn't the only Sakano involved in this case…)

* * *

**_

_**March 15, 2:59 P.M.**_

**_Sakano Household_**

_**Living Room

* * *

**_

"So you're Tom Sakano…" Maya trailed off, plopping leisurely onto Tom's couch.

"Y-Yes." The boy replied, nodding ever so slightly. Phoenix could tell by his nervous attitude that he was worried about something.

"You have any brothers or sisters?" The attorney queried, amiably enough to where Tom felt it all right to answer the question.

"No."

"There's no need to be all jumpy about it, Tom." Phoenix assured him, smiling. "We're not accusing you or your dad of anything."

"What about Jordin?" The adolescent asked, looking to Phoenix abruptly.

"Well…" He began, glancing away.

"Jordin's the defendant!" Pearl smiled at the older boy, thinking that she was helping some. "We're trying to prove her innocent!"

"Oh…" Tom began, falling silent before collapsing casually into a reclining chair next to where Maya was sitting on the couch.

"Do…you know Jordin?" The lawyer inquired, leaning forward a little bit.

Tom remained silent for a moment, thinking over answering the question. Phoenix thought him insightful; he had let them in to his home – them, people he didn't even know – at the mention of Sterling…It was only fair that he get to pick the questions he answered.

"If you don't want to answer, I understand." The attorney nodded. "However, the information you might have could be crucial to this case and – "

"Look man, Sterling is dead." Tom gazed up at him. "I have to answer your questions if I'm ever gonna help prove Jordin innocent."

Phoenix looked ingenuously surprised at the statement made by the teen.

"He's right, ya know." Maya agreed from the couch, gazing over at Phoenix. The attorney sighed.

_**(So much for being considerate…)**_

"Well then, Tom…" He began. "Would you be willing to tell us about anything you know?"

"Sure." The younger of the men replied. "What do you wanna know?"

"For starters," Phoenix looked at the floor for a brief moment before glancing to Maya for another. "You seem to know things about the defendant. How do you know her?"

Tom stopped, taking a deep breath.

"She's my ex-girlfriend. I mean, we were together for what, seven months, and then she dumped me because she thought I was cheating on her. She actually broke up with me in a _**note**_…"

"A note?" Maya repeated, looking rather shocked. "Wow, it must have been harsh…"

"Yeah." The teen agreed, folding his hands. "I saw her after school that day. After I told her I didn't know what she was talking about, she yelled at me. 'You're such a liar!' She said, and then ran away. _**I never cheated on her**_. I was upset for a little while…and I even went over to her house to try to patch things up, but all she did was yell at me. She didn't listen. So I figured, what's done is done." He heaved a heavy sigh.

_**(Poor kid. Jordin must have got him bad.) **_

"May I see the note?" Phoenix asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess…"He muttered, standing from the chair he was sitting in. "Wait here."

The boy disappeared into his room for a moment, soon returning with a small folded piece of paper.

"Here." Tom handed the small sheet to Phoenix, who unfolded the paper and read its contents silently.

_Tom,_

_Jessica told me all about you and Lauren together after school yesterday. I can't believe you would do this to me! And here I thought we were doing really well! After all we've been through, too! You just had to go and cheat on me with that fat ugly whore. What did she have that I don't…?_

The note went on ranting about how hurt she was and how Tom was such a jerk.

_**(Wow. I didn't know Jordin could be like this. This note is harsher than I thought.)**_

"Sorry." Phoenix stated, moving to hand the note back to Tom.

"Keep it." Tom shook his head, pushing the lawyer's hand away. "I never wanna see that piece of junk ever again."

A heavy-hearted silence filled the room.

"All right." Phoenix nodded.

* * *

_**Jordin's Break-Up Note added to the Court Record.

* * *

**_

_**(Maybe I can ask Jordin about what happened later…) **_

"Anything else?" Tom watched the lawyer as he put away the note. "Or is that it?"

"What about your parents, Tom?" Phoenix went on. "Tell us about them."

"Well…" The boy trailed off, looking out the window across from him. "My dad's name is _**Woody Sakano**_. My mom died when I was younger."

"Was your dad a friend of Sterling's?" Phoenix asked, fidgeting through his Court Record.

"Yeah. They hung out sometimes. That's haw Jordin and I met. Our dads worked together, and we saw each other on occasion… sometimes Sterling and Jordin would come over to watch the game." He momentarily motioned to the large-screened television that was sitting in the wooden entertainment center. "Jordin and I together only gave them more reasons to hang out."

"I see…" Phoenix rubbed his chin for a moment, falling deep into thought upon hearing about the relationship between the victim and Woody.

_**(I think we have two more suspects on our hands…) **_

"All right, one more thing." The attorney folded his hands over the Court Record. "Let's talk about when you went to visit Jordin. What was that about?"

"What does that have to do with the case…?" Tom cocked his head, a bit flustered.

"I'm curious. It might help us. But again, if you don't want to answer…" Phoenix turned to Maya who was admiring the massive TV before returning his gaze to the other adolescent.

"No, no." Tom, shaking his head, reassured them. "I'll talk."

Phoenix nodded.

_**(Wow, he's being awfully cooperative.) **_

"Well, I think it was about _**two days ago**_ that I went to Jordin's house… I tried to talk it out, but she was too irrational to listen to me at all. All she did was yell. So I went home." He shrugged languidly, looking to the window again before shaking his head. "I dunno, I think I need to get over myself. She's never gonna trust me again, especially now that her dad is dead."

"Hm…" Phoenix trailed off into thought, pondering the story that the teenager had just told.

"Wait, Nick!" Maya jumped out of her seat. "Nick, think about it! _**Two days ago**_?"

Phoenix's gaze turned sharply to Tom. Tom's eyes snapped back, hesitantly staring the lawyer eye-to-eye.

"What does she mean?" He asked innocently.

Phoenix turned his head to the floor for a few moments, then looking back up at the person they had been interrogating.

"Tom, when did you go to Jordin's house that night?" Phoenix questioned softly, yet strangely calm at the same time.

"Why?" The boy fired a question right back.

"Because you were at the house on _**the day of the murder of Sterling Nichols**_."

Tom took air in slightly, and then realized what Phoenix was getting at.

"Wait, you don't think that I…?"

"We're not accusing you of anything." Phoenix reassured him.

"I was there around…_**eight at night**_." The boy muttered.

The lawyer tried to conceal his grim face.

"And how long did you stay?" He questioned sheepishly, yet innocently enough.

"About a _**half an hour**_." He replied, sounding a bit nervous himself.

"Mr. Nick?" Pearl looked up at the attorney, as if asking if something was wrong. Phoenix could feel the muscles tightening in his shoulders.

_**(That would put him around the time when the murder occurred…)**_

Fortunately, Phoenix emerged from his thought process in time to flash the ten-year-old a small, convincing smile before brushing off his blue suit and turning towards the door.

"Well, that'll be it, for now." He nodded the teen's way before motioning for Maya and Pearl to come along.

"That's it?" Tom stood from the chair, cocking his head ever so slightly.

"Unless…" Phoenix coolly responded, peering over his shoulder. "You have something else to tell us?"

"No, nothing…" He muttered, directing his attention to the window for the last time before they left.

"All right. Be seeing you." Maya waved a bit, and the three of them turned to leave.

"_**Wait!**_"

Phoenix turned around, realizing that the clichéd yet effective wallowing-in-self-guilt-trip act had worked.

"Yes?" Maya asked, cocking her head a bit to emphasize her curiosity. Pearl cutely folded her hands in front of her.

"Uh…" Tom bit his bottom lip, looking at his bare feet for a moment. "That wasn't the entire truth, I mean…"

"Then what is?" Phoenix muttered.

"I need to tell you something." Tom nodded toward the lawyer, as if assuring himself of his faith in him.

"Uh, we're listening." Maya nodded herself in return. Although the statement wasn't meant to sound cocky, Maya got that way sometimes; mostly when she was determined to discover the truth. Phoenix recognized it in trials. That was why he wasn't surprised when Tom watched the medium warily for a moment.

_**(You're pushing it there, Maya…)**_

"My father is supposed to come home around _**five**_. He's away at a meeting, and should be back around then…" The teen looked nervously to the door.

"All right. We might come back to talk to your dad. Is that okay?" The attorney questioned while watching Tom stare at his feet.

Tom nodded solemnly.

"Mr. Wright." Tom mumbled after a long pause.

"Mhmm?"

"My father and I didn't do anything wrong."

"Okay, Tom. I believe you." He held out a card. "You know, when your dad comes home, give me a call."

Tom took the square white card from the lawyer, gazing at the scribbled handwriting written on it.

Phoenix managed another reassuring smile for the boy. Tom looked up and grinned back, although it hadn't been forced, like the one that they'd seen in the picture Mr. Goody had given them.

"Bye!" Pearl cried, all smiles, and blissfully ignorant, as usual.

"Bye." Tom waved to the ten-year-old, his other hand placed in his jacket pocket. "Say hi to Jordin for me."

The three of them agreed that they would and then stepped out the door.

_**(We should head back to the Detention Center – I have a feeling we can strike a decent blow to Jordin's Psyche-Locks now.)

* * *

**_

_**March 15, 3:45 P.M. **_

_**Detention Center

* * *

**_

"Hm." Maya scratched her head a bit, looking to the guard who was standing by the door, and then switching her focus to the security camera hung watchfully from the ceiling. "I wonder where Jordin is at."

"She's probably in questioning. Let's head to the Criminal Affairs Department; there's something I need checked out. We'll swing by here later." Phoenix glanced over at his assistant, then at young Pearl on the other side of him, who was looking around herself. He reached in his pocket, feeling for Sterling's ring.

Maya nodded in reply.

* * *

_**March 15, 3:54 P.M.**_

_**District Criminal Affairs Dept.

* * *

**_

"Hey!" Detective Blade called when the three arrived, waving his one hand while carrying a clipboard in his other. "We meet again!"

"Detective Blade." Phoenix nodded.

"Hi, Mr. Other Detective!" Pearl smiled.

"What can I help you with?" The detective asked, adjusting his tie ever so slightly before leaning forward and forcing Phoenix to instinctively lean back.

"First of all, is Prosecutor Datenshi anywhere around?" The defense attorney glanced back and forth with his hand stuffed in his pocket.

"Not right now. She was here a moment ago, though. I think she headed back to the Prosecuting Firm for a couple of minutes. From there, she's going to the - uh, whoops! I should keep my mouth shut!" Chris laughed nervously, smiling broadly at the trio, who all narrowed their eyes almost simultaneously afterwards.

"But anyway, Detective," Phoenix pulled the small ring out of his pocket, "Could you fingerprint this for me?"

"I dunno. I don't think I'm supposed to help you guys – Alex says that she doesn't want me doing that anymore because she wants to beat you fair and square; whatever that means…" Chris glanced to the information on his clipboard before messing with a pen he had in his hand.

Phoenix rolled his eyes, a bit exasperated.

_**(What a fidgety guy…) **_

"Could you do it for us this time…Pleeeease?" Maya begged, batting her eyes at the detective, who, for a moment, looked ready to bend, but then shook himself out of it.

"No, I can't. I said I wouldn't…" He muttered. "Like, I also have the results from the pencil fingerprinting, but I'm not supposed to give that to you either…"

"Are you suuure?" Pearl joined in on the sway, smiling adorably at the detective, who whimpered, but would not falter.

"You think your assistant and some cute little kid are going to get _me _to give in? Well, you got another thing coming! Humph!" Chris turned to his clipboard, duly jotting down notes.

"I mean, that's just –" Detective Blade looked up from his clipboard.

"That's too bad. You seemed like such a nice guy, too…" She placed her hand under her chin, looking to the ceiling.

Pearl gasped, a bit stunned. "Mystic…!" She trailed off in awe.

The seventeen-year-old's eyes widened considerably.

"Ah – Wha?!"

"Even after all we did to get this information, too…" She pursed her lips, as if upset or concerned.

"Whoa…when did you…?"

"But, I guess we could get someone else to do it for us…Right, Phoenix?" She turned to the lawyer, who, completely used to this, nodded.

"Mhmm." He replied, fiddling with the ring in his pocket.

"I-I-You-you don't have to! I'll do it for you Sheena-I mean-ma'am!" Chris extended his hand to Phoenix, who placed the ring in it. The hypnotized detective grinned nervously. "See! I'll get it done really quickly!"

Phoenix cocked an eyebrow, wrinkling his nose a bit.

_**(Who the heck is Sheena?)**_

"That's it. Thank you so much..." She smiled sweetly at him, and then waved. "Now, go on…"

Detective Blade didn't need to be asked twice. He was gone in a flash.

As soon as the detective had gone, she turned to Phoenix.

The attorney grinned. "It's nice to see you again, Mia – you haven't come around in a while…"

"You really haven't needed me, I guess…" Mia watched the floor, and then looked back up at Phoenix while folding her arms across her chest. "I mean, Maya will channel me every once in a great while, but…" The woman smirked suddenly, pushing Maya's black hair out of her face before trailing off in thought. The woman shrugged whatever she was thinking off and nodded once to her so-called "apprentice." "I should get going. Please tell my sister that this is the last time I'll _ever_ do this," She muttered, sounding rather irritated. Phoenix flashed a smile at his former boss, knowing that she had done it once before for an old seed-flinging man; Victor Kudo.

"Will do." He replied, placing a hand on one hip, the Court Record in the other. "Bye, Chief."

With that, Maya fell into him, shaking her head before looking up at the lawyer.

"I think that did the trick." Maya smiled up at the attorney, who just rolled his eyes.

Chris came almost dashing back to them, grinning like a madman.

"I got that done for you, miss~! Now…" The detective trailed off, glancing around for any sign of Maya's older sister.

"She's gone," He realized, suddenly a bit down. "Wait, you know her, right, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix nodded once in agreement, blowing past the unnoticed play on words.

"Lucky." –That part was said so no one could hear, before he cleared his throat – "Anyway, when I have the results, I'll call you. Make sure you bring back your friend next time~!" He seemed almost singsong in saying 'friend.' Phoenix plastered on a fake smile and waved goodbye, wiggling all of his fingers. Pearl and Maya, however, ignorantly ignored the underlying motives in Chris' kindness and both said their elaborate goodbyes.

_**(I wonder if I should go check on Jordin before the Detention Center closes…)**_

A phone began to ring to the tune of the _Steel Samurai, _Maya's favorite television show. Phoenix, glancing around for a moment before feeling a slight vibrating sensation in his pants pocket, pulled out his phone. He didn't immediately recognize the number, but he figured he should answer it in case it was Tom.

Pressing the squarish green button on the phone, he placed the receiver to his ear and managed a noticeably exhausted "Hello?"

"Mr. Wright?" A voice replied quietly over the speaker.

"Tom?"

"Yeah."

"Hey."

"My dad got home early. He just got home. You should be able to speak with him if you come over soon."

"All right. Make sure he doesn't go out again."

"Right. How's Jordin?"

"Haven't seen her since I left your house."

"Oh. You should probably get here quickly..."

"All right. Bye."

"Bye."

Phoenix pressed an equally square red button and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

"We're gonna be heading back over to the Sakanos." He told the two girls with him.

"Is Woody home?" Maya took on a contemplative look, placing her finger to her cheek while looking upward.

"Seems so." Phoenix nodded.

Pearl yawned, her mouth stretching into that of a lowercase "o".

"Are you tired, Pearly?" Maya turned to Pearl, who, upon noticing that they were watching her, stopped yawning and smiled.

"No!" She cried playfully. "I'm wide awake!"

The three of them laughed as they returned to Tom's house in hopes of uncovering the truth about Woody Sakano.

* * *

_**March 15, 4:27 P.M.**_

_** Sakano Household **_

_**Doorstep

* * *

**_

_**DING-DONG.**_

The same doorbell rang when they arrived at the house for the second time, Phoenix feeling more apprehensive than when he had visited here the first.

_**(Something tells me we're not going to uncover the truth until a lot later tonight…)**_

The delay between ringing the doorbell and the inhabitants actually opening the door was much briefer this time, the same man in Goody's photo slowly unlocked and creaked the door open, also wearing different clothes than he had in the picture.

"Hello, sir." Maya bowed respectfully.

"Oh, it's you guys. Are you with the other chick that's here?"

"'Other chick'?" Phoenix peered past the man to see something he wasn't entirely expecting, nor had he planned for if such a thing _did _happen…

"Sir Phoenix Wright!" called Alex Datenshi as she turned around, grinning widely. "Oh, I _knew_ you'd show up here if I just waited a little longer~!" She exclaimed, folding her hands in front of them while raising herself up on her tiptoes. "I just knew we would meet again!"

Phoenix rolled his eyes when Alex turned briefly to adjust her purple and white jacket.

_**(Oh brother.) **_

"Tell me, Sir Phoenix Wright…" The underage prosecutor cocked her head questioningly. "What brings your investigation here?"

There was a small pause where everyone, including Woody and Tom Sakano, were silent.

"Uh, well…" He muttered, trailing off into thought.

Another span of silence exploded in the room, this one long and quite drawn-out.

"Ahaha…I understand! Don't wanna give away the whole case, do ya? Well, I can take a hint. I'll be going now. Please remember what we talked about, won't you, Mistah Sakano?"

"Ah, yes." Woody spoke up, waving his hand as if attempting a one-handed clap. "I'll see you in court tomorrow, Miss."

Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl moved out of the way for the prosecutor to pass by. Alex smiled and nodded the way of the two girls, who both repaid the same.

"Sir Phoenix Wright…the best of luck to you." She smirked as if saying it sarcastically, but Phoenix knew better than to think that now.

"Ta-Ta!"

And she left.

Phoenix sighed, turning back to the two men in the room.

_**(I'm so glad that she wasn't so spastic this time…)**_

"Who are you?" Woody asked, setting his lips a bit. "Since you weren't with the other woman…"

"Uhm…" Phoenix started.

"Dad. They're with Jordin. They're here to ask questions about what happened to Sterling." Tom finished for the lawyer, standing and looking to his father.

"Oh." To the lawyer's surprise, Woody was almost calm about why the three of them had arrived, bringing a hot cup of coffee to the living room table. "Well please, sit down."

Maya once more lounged in the couch, almost sinking into it so you could no longer see her purple medium attire. Pearl sat closely beside her, a little tired but also a little wary of the older man in the room. Phoenix sat in a chair that most likely had originally been set out for Prosecutor Datenshi, but was not used very long, if at all.

"So, your name is Woody Sakano?" Phoenix started, eyeballing the man that was seated across from him. Woody nodded.

"My real name is actually Hunter Forrest Sakano. But since both of those have to do with woods, I was nicknamed Woody by my parents."

Phoenix looked briefly to the paper he was using for notes, but didn't really feel the urge to jot that down. He turned back to the man.

"You knew Sterling, right?" He pressed on, trying to seem nonchalant.

"To an extent. Sometimes him and his daughter would come over to watch football games with my son Tom and I. I think…Tom," He turned to his son, who was watching his father anxiously. "You were dating that Jordin girl, weren't you…? Until recently…"

Tom merely nodded, then returning his attention to a wary Phoenix.

Woody flashed Tom an awkward smile, then also looking to the attorney.

"But yes, we were fairly acquainted with one another. We were co-workers down at Goody Jewelers."

_**(Woody's way too calm about all of this.) **_

"…May I ask where you were on the night of the murder?" Phoenix decided to cut right to the chase, briefly nodding to Tom, who cringed a bit. "Around nine o'clock, nine-thirty?"

"Why, of course." The man complied. "About half an hour earlier, Tom was talking about _**walking to go see Sterling's daughter**_. I…simply _**offered to drive him there**_. We drove…stayed there, what…" He turned to Tom again, staring intently, "Twenty, thirty minutes, then returned home?"

"Thirty, dad." Tom glanced at Woody. "I remember."

"Yes, thirty." Woody nodded. "Then we came back home. That was all."

Phoenix nodded, jotting what was said down.

_**(Woody's story coincides with Tom's story then. Strong alibi if we can prove it happened. That would explain the **__**Tire Tracks **__**in Sterling's driveway**__**as well.)**_

"Mr. Sakano, were you and Sterling…fighting over anything in the past few days…?"

"What…?" Woody's eyebrows furrowed, clearly jumping to conclusions. "You mean to tell me that you suspect _me_ of committing a murder?"

"I'm just trying to get the facts…" Phoenix defended as Woody angrily stood, folding his arms over his chest.

"I'm not willing to answer any more, thank you. You will hear my testimony in court, Mr. Wright. That is all. Please take your friends and leave."

Tom stood as well, a bit indignant. "Dad!" He cried in protest. "They're trying to help! We should –"

"Tom! Stay _out_ of this!" Woody glared at his son, who instantly backed down at the sight of the glower.

With that, Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl stood, leaving the Sakanos and the door closing abruptly behind them.

"Well, he's a bit of a bipolar one." Maya mused, placing a finger to her chin in thought.

"Buy-pole-are?" Pearl annunciated questioningly, making the lawyer chuckle.

"I think that Jordin's out of questioning now. We should go talk to her." He suggested.

* * *

_**March 15, 4:49 P.M. **_

_**Detention Center

* * *

**_

"Why, hello there, Mr. Wright." Jordin nodded to the three of them as they sat in front of her.

"Hello there, Jordin." Phoenix replied, in turn, pulling out the Magatama from his pocket.

"_**TAKE THAT!"**_

Everything turned their opposing color on the color wheel once more and then faded to black. Now it was just he and Jordin, separated by chains, Psyche-Locks, and the secrets of her heart.

* * *

_**-On the Night of the Murder…-

* * *

**_

"All right Jordin, it's time to tell me what you were really doing on the night of the murder."

"But, I already told you, Mr. Wright, I was locked in my room, listening to my music."

"Oh really? I find that hard to believe. I don't think you were in your room when the murder happened."

"…Oh yeah? Well, where's your proof?"

"Huh?"

"You need proof to make it true, right? _**Well, do you have any proof that I wasn't in my room at the time of the murder?**_"

Phoenix, staring at the green item for a moment, displayed the MP3 player for the girl to see.

"_**TAKE THAT!" **_

"This is your MP3 Player, right?"

"Yes, it is. How did you get that?"

"I picked it up during an investigation at your house. And what I noticed about it is that…it was last used…_**a month ago.**_"

"…Was it…?"

"Yes…I asked Detective Blade to figure it out for me. And he showed me that you used did _not _use this uPod on the night of the murder!"

"Oh…!"

One of the trick locks on the chains surrounding her shattered into tiny bits and pieces before disappearing.

"…You're right. I wasn't in my room at the time of the murder, Mr. Wright. But why do you care? Aren't you supposed to be defending me?"

"Yes, but I want the truth from you as well. So, what were you really doing when the murder occurred?"

"Well…I…I was outside. Picking flowers from the garden in our backyard. Daddy wanted me to so we could put them in a vase for the dinner table."

"I said I wanted the truth from you, Jordin."

"…What? That was the truth, Mr. Wright!"

"No, it wasn't, because picking flowers, especially in your flower garden, would make this person very angry!"

He displayed a picture of the victim, Sterling Nichols. Her father.

"_**TAKE THAT!" **_

"…Your father. Detective Blade and even you told me he was into _**saving the environment**_. Especially growing his flower garden out in the backyard. Why would he want you to pick those flowers if they were so precious to him?"

"…Um…uh-oh."

Another of the trick locks burst into tiny fragments and then vanished.

"You know, Jordin…I think I have an idea of what you were doing during the time of the murder."

"What could you know?"

"_**Truthfully, I think you were talking with this person…"**_

Phoenix pulled out a photo of Tom.

"_**TAKE THAT!"**_

"You were talking to Tom, weren't you?"

"Tom?"

"Your ex-boyfriend."

"Why would I want to talk to that jerk?"

"_Actually, it was him who came to see you, wasn't it? He came to talk about this…" _

He carefully pulled the folded piece of paper from the recesses of his pocket, unfolding it and displaying it to her.

"_**TAKE THAT!"**_

"…You broke up with him the day before the murder, remember?"

"…"

The final trick lock splintered, leaving the chains around her heart to disappear.

* * *

_**UNLOCK SUCCESSFUL

* * *

**_

The room returned to normal, Pearl and Maya on either side of the lawyer as he sat calmly on the other side of the glass window.

"Wasn't he cheating on you?" He asked amiably, cocking his head slightly to the left.

"Yeah…" She muttered, looking earthward as if embarrassed.

"You kept telling him you didn't want anything to do with him." Phoenix empathized in return.

"Yeah." She agreed, nodding.

"But he kept talking to you, didn't he?"

"Yeah! He wouldn't leave me alone! Kept telling me 'I didn't cheat on you! I didn't!' But I know he did."

"Jordin, did anything new happen with you and your dad recently that may have caused him to _**make some enemies**_…?"

"Nothing."

"No troubles at work?"

"Not really. He just got a _**promotion he'd been working towards**_. We both thought that _**Woody was gonna get it…but it ended up that Goody gave it to Daddy instead**_."

"Also, about when Tom came to see you that night…" The lawyer led in, raising an eyebrow and awaiting a response. The room was silent for a couple of minutes; Phoenix for a moment thinking that there would be another Psyche-Lock on their hands.

"_**He was**_ _**alone**_. The nerve of that boy!" She cursed, making a fist. Phoenix was mildly surprised.

_**(I've never seen Jordin act this fervently about anything before. She's always so…silent.) **_

"He came to talk about it. He wanted to know who told me that he was cheating and why. I kept telling him to go away, but he wouldn't listen. He just kept telling me, 'You have to believe me. I didn't cheat. I'm not a cheater.' He was so calm about it…" Visible tears were welling up in the teen's eyes, but Phoenix decided to ignore them since Jordin was so eager to hide them. "How could he be so CALM about it? Didn't he know he hurt me? Did he even care at all? All he did was want to clear his name!" Tears now freely streaking her face, Jordin raised her head slightly as if to keep the mascara she was wearing from running down her cheeks. "I HATE him."

Phoenix remained silent, feeling rather awkward and unsure of what he should do in this position. He had comforted Maya and Pearl countless times in these sorts of situations – but with Jordin, let alone the circumstances – she was heartbroken. She lost her father seconds after Tom had crushed her heart. It was no wonder she was bawling now – she had no time to cry when all of it happened. She had to remain cool the entire time.

"Jordin." He stated her name softly and reassuringly. "I'll prove you innocent. I promise. Okay? But you have to answer these questions for me. I know you're upset – I understand how it feels like thinking you have no one on your side. But believe me, you have more people on your side than you know." He smiled reassuringly as the teen looked up at him, tearstained face piqued with question.

"I know I am." He told her, causing her wipe her eyes with her jacket sleeve.

"Me too!" Maya agreed, nodding before exchanging friendly glances with the lawyer.

"Me three!" Pearl excitedly raised her hand in the air.

"Believe in that, and there's no question that we'll prove you innocent." Phoenix nodded, folding his hands in his lap.

Jordin merely smiled faintly, looking to the floor once more.

"Jordin…?" The defense attorney began one last time, leaning in a bit. "One more question…"

"Yeah…?"

"Was there a _**car **_outside in your driveway when Tom came to see you?"

There was silence again.

"No." She shook her head. "Tom _**walked to my house**_."

"Thanks." He grinned, and then waved, standing up from his chair in the Detention Center booth. "I'll see you in court tomorrow."

And after leaving, the lawyer's grin only intensified.

_**(A trip to the Criminal Affairs Department will lead to cracking this case wide open – although it's becoming clearer and clearer by the second.)

* * *

**_

_**March 15, 4:43 P.M.**_

_**District Criminal Affairs Dept.

* * *

**_

"Ah! Mr. Wright!" Chris called, waving from the other side of the room. "I have the results from the tests that you had done on the ring!"

"That's good to hear," Phoenix replied, him and his two partners meeting the detective halfway. Chris smiled warmly, as if somehow excited about something. He handed the lawyer as small plastic Ziploc-looking bag, a shinier version of the ring inside it.

"Don't think it was polished too," He added as the attorney took the little plastic container from him. "The tests ran involved wiping some of the dirt and residue off of it for fingerprints."

"_Oh._" Phoenix replied, a bit hurt and a bit agitated. "Well, thanks anyway."

"There were really two sets of fingerprints on it." Chris smiled weakly, cocking his head a bit to the side. "That of the victim, Sterling Nichols. And also…something interesting, in fact."

"What is it?" Phoenix's eyebrows rose slightly, questioning the investigator's statement.

"It also had another person's prints on it. A…" He glanced briefly to his clipboard. "…Woody Sakano?"

Pearl gasped, obviously surprised. Phoenix was decidedly less so.

"Woody Sakano." The lawyer repeated, nodding.

"I have the results right here." Chris displayed a piece of paper for the three of them, grinning as the attorney took the sheet from him.

"Looks like it all right." He nodded once more, handing it back. "Thanks, Chris."

* * *

_**Sterling's Ring added to the Court Record.

* * *

**_

"I think you're thanking the wrong person, there, Sir Phoenix Wright." A voice from behind Chris voiced, causing everyone to look upwards. Alex was standing there with her arms folded, smiling faintly at all of them.

"Yeah. Alex told me I could give the results to you!" Chris added warmly.

The lawyer could feel an exasperated drop of sweat drip down his face.

_**(After all I did to get it, there was a chance that I wouldn't even get it back…?)**_

"I did all the work myself." Alex admitted, pushing her glasses up on her nose without fully uncrossing her arms. "I ran all the tests involving fingerprinting for you. So be nice and say thank you like a nice defense attorney…~"

Phoenix looked downwards, unsure of what he should say.

_**(Well, I should say thank you, but isn't this fraternizing with the enemy? And how did she even know how to do this anyway? What does Chris do around here if she does all of the anthropological stuff anyway?)**_

"Alex, thanks." He muttered, nodding her way. The prosecutor beamed.

"Oh, you're so very welcome, Sir Phoenix Wright! I'm so happy to have wasted my talents on _you, _of all people!"

The attorney sighed, then turning his attention back to the detective with a faraway look in his eyes. Phoenix immediately assumed the question he was going to be asked next and prepared an answer.

"Where's your friend?" He questioned, amiably enough. Phoenix sighed, placing a hand to his head.

"Thanks again." Phoenix rolled his eyes, turning back around.

"I'll see you in court, Sir Phoenix Wright!" Alex waved maniacally, watching them all the way to the door. Chris called for them to come back, wanting him to answer his question, but they continued to ignore him.

"Are you ready for court tomorrow, Nick?" Maya asked, looking down at the sidewalk below her feet. Phoenix grinned.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied, grasping the Court Record.

_**(I just need one more thing to ensure Jordin's acquittal – and that's a confession! I have all the evidence in the world.)

* * *

**_

**TO BE CONTINUED.**

_**SAVE**_

Save cleared stage data up to this point?


End file.
